During the Commercial Recreational Vessels Licensing External Stakeholders Meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) addressed concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the sudden rise in charter yacht fees from the previous year. Photo: Facebook

Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) has said the United States federal government and the United Kingdom government should not handle the charter fee issue. Photo: Internet Source

Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Hon. Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) has defended the significant increase in licensing and entry fees for foreign-based commercial vessels which took effect June 1, 2025. Photo: VINO/ File

During the Commercial Recreational Vessels Licensing External Stakeholders Meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, the Premier addressed concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the sudden rise in fees from the previous year.

In his response, Premier Wheatley stated, “We don't have corporate tax, and also, we don't get budgetary aid from the United Kingdom. So we have somewhat of a different situation. So those things have to be factored in when we decide on the level of our fees.”

The Virgin Islands has drastically raised licensing and entry fees for foreign-based commercial vessels. Key changes include annual license fees moving from $800 to $24,000 for some vessels, with daily fees rising from $200 to $8,500. At the same time, the VI has introduced duty-free importation for locally registered vessels.

Fees unchanged since 1992

Concerns were also raised regarding the fact that fees had not been altered since 1992, and Premier Wheatley, while acknowledging this, stated, “I don't think it's ideal that the fees were not changed since 1992, and I do sympathise with the fact that they were raised so dramatically in a very short period of time. Certainly not ideal, but I don't think we could not have continued, with the very low fees considering the cost that we have to invest just to run government, and also to be able to administer the services that we are administering.”

No intention to negatively target USVI 

He again doubled down and dismissed claims that the government intended for the fee increases to negatively target the US Virgin Islands.

The VI's fee hike for charter vessels, which saw licensing costs rise by as much as 4,000%, significantly impacted the USVI's marine sector. These changes allegedly threatened a $166 million industry and put 5,000 jobs at risk, and have forced USVI operators to relocate.

Premier Wheatley emphasised, "The marine industry is one of the main industries in the VI and as our obligations continue to grow we have to look to some of our main revenue earners as a means of continuing to sustain growth into the future so that is a part of what has factored into the increases we did engage over a number of years with United States Virgin Islands administration.” 

VI Gov't committed to meeting with USVI Gov't

The Premier expressed his belief that both the VI and USVI governments had reached an understanding regarding these concerns, stating, “I think we got to a point where our positions were well understood, but subsequently, we saw that understanding change once the true impact of the changes was felt." 

He pledged his government’s commitment to engage more with the US Virgin Islands government, adding, “We don't believe that this matter should be handled by the United States federal government or the United Kingdom government.”

As previously reported, Governor Albert A. Bryan Jr wrote to US President Donald J. Trump and his Cabinet requesting federal action regarding the increase in charter vessel fees imposed by the VI.

The Premier expressed his disappointment with this decision, stating that, constitutionally, this is a devolved area for the United Kingdom, which generally would not be involved. “It's completely under the auspices of the local government, which is different for the United States Virgin Islands. We accept that, but our position is that we want to continue speaking to the United States Virgin Islands government, as opposed to the federal government.”