USVI Governor asks President Trump to intervene in USVI-VI charter fee issue
In his letter dated December 4, 2025, Governor Bryan said the issue “demands swift and coordinated federal engagement”.
He accused the new fee structure of already destabilising the marine industry in the USVI, adding that it “threatens to do long-term damage to our local economy”.
Under the new fee structure, annual multi-night charter licenses that previously cost around $800 have now increased to $24,000 per vessel. Day-trip licenses have risen from $200 to $8,500 per vessel, in addition to customary customs and immigration charges that can add another $900 to $1,200 or more for each entry.
Contradiction
Governor Bryan’s letter is in direct contrast to what he said following a meeting between himself and his delegation and Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) on April 15, 2025.
“We are not competitors,” Governor Bryan said, “We actually are collaborators; The US Virgin Islands is a product of the BVI tourism, and BVI is a product of the USVI tourism,” he said following the April 2025 meeting.
He also acknowledged that the previous system was not fair.
“It really isn't fair for us to be able to send a boat over to the BVI, unlimited, and their charter boats- who are nestled there, employ people who work there, eating there, getting rents there- they’re having the same amount of payment as the US Virgin Islands.”
$14 million in direct seasonal spending gone
Many USVI-based charter vessel operators have voiced concern over the fee increases.
Governor Bryan wrote, “These hikes are in addition to standard customs, immigration, and port fees, making continued operation from the USVI cost-prohibitive for many businesses.”
According to him, the impact is already being felt, with the coalition of USVI maritime operators called Project Fair Waters estimating that more than 90 vessels have shifted their homeport to the VI since the new fees took effect.
His letter also revealed that nearly $14 million in direct seasonal spending has disappeared from the USVI economy in just a few months, with long-term losses potentially nearing $100 million annually.
Free movement was the norm for decades
Governor Bryan also accused the VI of pricing out US and USVI-based vessels in a “shared maritime region”, instead of what the VI has said is a “modernisation effort”.
“These fees operate as de facto tariffs, unfairly favouring local BVI operators and distorting the cross-border charter market. For decades, vessels have moved freely between our waters. That balance is being deliberately disrupted,” he shared.
Premier Wheatley had explained that the old fee structure was archaic, not having been changed in decades. He also expressed that his government simply wanted the VI to benefit from the maritime charter industry, as the USVI boasts of generating almost $100 million annually from the industry.
Full weight of the federal gov’t required
“As a territory, the USVI cannot negotiate international maritime access. Because the BVI is a United Kingdom Overseas Territory, this is an international matter—and one that requires the full weight of the federal government to resolve,” Governor Bryan wrote.
He urged President Trump and his Cabinet to take the following action:
1. Engage the United Kingdom at the highest diplomatic levels
2. Initiate a formal USTR review
3. Evaluate BVI eligibility under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA)
4. Convene an interagency task force focused on USVI–BVI maritime access
Governor Bryan said the USVI respects the VI’s “authority to regulate its waters…but this is not cost recovery, this is economic exclusion”.
The result, he added, is U.S.-based companies being pushed out of a U.S. territory and into a foreign jurisdiction.
“The USVI plays a strategic role in America’s Caribbean presence, from undersea cables and fuel logistics to tourism, small business, and security. But we cannot carry out that mission if our local economy is hollowed out by policy decisions made offshore and left unchallenged.”
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12 Responses to “USVI Governor asks President Trump to intervene in USVI-VI charter fee issue”
"Full weight of the federal gov’t required
“As a territory, the USVI cannot negotiate international maritime access. Because the BVI is a United Kingdom Overseas Territory, this is an international matter—and one that requires the full weight of the federal government to resolve,” Governor Bryan wrote.
He urged President Trump and his Cabinet to take the following action:
1. Engage the United Kingdom at the highest diplomatic levels
2. Initiate a formal USTR review
3. Evaluate BVI eligibility under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA)
4. Convene an interagency task force focused on USVI–BVI maritime access "
Really???
time to fly barbados
This man is a clown. Pay or get yuh r@$$!