The strongly expressed position by Ninth District Representative and Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) that The Baths and Devil’s Bay must remain open and accessible to the public without exclusion or preference to any single commercial interest demonstrates his consistent take on the issue. Photo: GIS/File

A proposal to set aside The Baths and Devil’s Bay National Parks for the exclusive use of an international luxury cruise operator on selected mornings has sparked sharp public debate in the Virgin Islands. Photo: Facebook

The National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands (NPT) had said it is in advanced negotiations with an unnamed cruise line to reserve access to The Baths and Devil’s Bay on nine mornings during the peak tourism season, with public access restricted from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Photo: NPT

Not a new position

This is because it is not a new position for him.

In July 2021, as the then Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Hon Wheatley directed the National Parks Trust to immediately reverse a decision that would have closed The Baths to residents and non-cruise visitors during set hours.

Addressing the controversial issue via a statement on August 20, 2026, Hon Wheatley said as the elected Representative for the Ninth District, home to The Baths and Devil’s Bay National Parks, he has followed closely, and with growing concern, the public discussion of the last several days regarding proposed arrangements for reserved access to The Baths and Devil’s Bay.

“My words then were plain, and they remain my words today: all beaches are public to anyone, for any matter. That was the Government’s position long before cruise ships resumed calling on our shores, and it is the Government's position now. Nothing about the passage of five years, or about the pressures now facing the Trust, changes that principle,” Hon Wheatley stated.

Hon Wheatley supports petition

The Ninth District Representative said he also had sight of a letter dated August 19, 2026, from O'Neal Webster, written on behalf of a concerned citizen and descendant of The Baths’ former owner, the late Dr. Eric L. O’Neal. He said that letter sets out, with historical documentation going back to 1954, the clear and consistent understanding, honoured by Dr. O'Neal, by the Government that acquired the property in 1987, and by every administration since, that The Baths would remain freely available to the public.

“That history reinforces, and does not stand apart from, the position I have held and continue to hold.”

Further, Hon Wheatley said he is aware of the petition now circulating among the people of Virgin Gorda and the wider Territory, which has to date attracted well over six hundred signatures toward a goal of eight hundred, and which the organisers intend to deliver by the time of the Trust’s virtual meeting on August 27, 2026.

“That petition makes the same point I have made since 2021: that when The Baths entered the national parks system, the clear intention was that it would remain accessible to the people of the Virgin Islands.”

‘The Baths belonged to us before the first cruise ship ever called’

According to Hon Wheatley, the petitioners have rightly called for a review of the National Parks Act, 2006, the Physical Planning Act, 2004, in particular section 61, Resolution No. 7 of 1989, and the Government’s Beach Use Policy under Resolution No. 7, all of which bear on public access to beaches and parks.

“I share the petitioners’ concern that what begins as nine reserved mornings for one operator could, left unchecked, become a precedent applied more broadly, at The Baths and elsewhere, in years to come. I am also aware of a letter from the Stewards of The Baths, which likewise echoes and supports the position I have set out here and which I understand to be the position of the Government of The Virgin Islands: that The Baths and Devil’s Bay National Parks must remain open and accessible to the public, without exclusion or preference to any single commercial interest.”

Hon Wheatley said he remains forever a proud Virgin Islander whose only interest in this and in every matter is to serve and benefit the people and this Territory.

“The Baths belonged to us before the first cruise ship ever called at our shores, and they will belong to us long after, and I intend to see that they remain that way.”

See related articles below:

The Baths & Devil’s Bay 'must remain open' to the public- Hon Vincent O. Wheatley

Public outcry over proposed exclusive cruise access to The Baths & Devil’s Bay