‘There’s really no need for us to escalate the issue’- Premier Wheatley to Gov Byran
Governor Byran had said he wanted Premier Wheatley to give formal commitment in writing by September 25, 2026.
“I would have much preferred for the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands to pick up the phone and call me as opposed to imposing deadlines that’s communicated through the media,” Premier Wheatley said on the Virgin Islands Voice on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Governor Byran’s request was also put in writing to Dr Wheatley.
No need to escalate to the US
“I’ve written back to the Governor, and I’ve informed him that there is really no need for us to escalate the issue to the United States.”
He explained that escalating the matter to the US would be a “translateral” when IVIC, which was established decades ago, is a bilateral framework that the USVI and VI use to resolve matters on their own.
“If you have the involvement of the United States, which is the administering power for the USVI, you most certainly would have to have the United Kingdom as well involved. I think the whole purpose of the Inter-Virgin Islands Council is to avoid having the United States and the United Kingdom solving problems for their own territories.”
He added that on the VI side the matter is completely devolved to us, while on the USVI side the federal government has some responsibilities for some areas.
“But of course we have the power to be able to regulate our own waters.”
Concessions were made by both parties
Under the new Commercial Recreational Vessel License (CRVL) framework, foreign-based term-charter vessels face annual levies of $7,500 for seven entries, a $2,100 charge for each additional trip, and up to $24,000 for unlimited access. Day-trip operators must pay $8,500, while water-taxi services pay $2,500 in fees.
Premier Wheatley said at the end of discussions with the USVI, they agreed on certain terms. “We made some concessions.”
One such concession was on the price of day trippers, after the point was made that the day trippers were some of the smaller operators. “We depend heavily on the day trippers coming to places like Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, etcetera, and we didn’t want to present any barriers to that happening, so we made concessions.”
Concessions were also made on the per-trip licensing. “After 7 trips, you had a per-trip cost; that was as a result of negotiations, and we came to some compromise.”
Developments since came as a real surprise
Discussions with Governor Bryan and his team, according to the Premier, were transparent. “It came as a real surprise, some of what has happened since that meeting, especially as it pertains to seeking to escalate things to the United States.”
He called the new developments “unfortunate”, as the VI and USVI are friends and celebrate Friendship Day annually. “It’s not friendly to impose deadlines on your friends in that type of way.”
Open to meeting in the VI
“We’re open to having a meeting here in the Virgin Islands to further engage on the issue. Of course it’s our neighbours, we came to an agreement before, but if our neighbours want to engage more and discuss more, we’re certainly open to that,” Premier Wheatley said.
He added that the fact that Governor Byran is the outgoing Governor has also been noted. “His term comes to an end in November…and they’ll have a new Governor as well, and I’m hopeful that as he exits and a new Governor comes into place in the United States Virgin Islands that we can continue our tradition of being able to work together in a constructive, friendly manner.”
Premier Wheatley said he hopes that a step back can be taken from some of the recent unfriendly actions and that the relationship can be reset.
See link to related article
USVI escalates charter yacht fee dispute; Gov. Bryan demands Oct. 2 meeting
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