VI must grow marine industry with intention- John M. Samuel
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Safer harbours & marinas
Mr Samuel was speaking at the Marine Industry Forum organised by the Jr Minister responsible for Financial Services and Economic Development, Hon Lorna G. Smith, OBE, and held at The Moorings Yacht Club in Wickhams Cay II on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
The Shipping Registry boss warned that the territory’s commercial recreational space cannot expand sustainably without additional anchorage destinations, more airlift and hotel rooms, and, critically, more marina berths, especially hurricane‑safe marina space. He noted that every summer, many boat owners are forced to depart for foreign waters to keep their vessels safe and remain compliant with insurance requirements, a pattern that shortens the local operating season and raises costs for owners and maritime businesses.
Mr Samuel argued that expanding safe harbour capacity would lower owner operating costs, lengthen the season and potentially boost summer demand, with positive spill‑over effects across the wider economy.
“Growth of our industry requires us to begin thinking about safer harbours, safe marinas,” he said, adding that the story is not only about growing the space, but about how that growth is planned and delivered. The goal, he stressed, is to ensure that VI boats and maritime businesses can remain viable without having to go foreign.
Strong policy frameworks
While infrastructure is a priority, Samuel said the long‑term sustainability of the service area will depend on strong policy frameworks, particularly around business licenses for day trips and water taxis. He framed the licensing debate as a question of who should be allowed to operate in this lowest‑buying‑level segment of the marine industry, and whether access should be reserved for VIslanders.
Key issues he highlighted for discussion include whether there should be restrictions on fleet sizes, whether hotels and charter companies should be permitted to hold licenses, and whether the total number of licenses operating in the market should be capped.
Mr Samuel warned that without clear rules, the sector could drift toward monopoly control, distorted pricing, and unequal access to a shared public resource, undermining opportunities for VIslanders to participate meaningfully in the industry.
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6 Responses to “VI must grow marine industry with intention- John M. Samuel”
The anchorages are already at capacity.
Damage to sea bed increasing.
Marinas are full of yachts that are not out on charter but sat doing nothing but taking up space in Marinas.
Problem is if all these boats were on the water the anchorages would be awful. All the moorings would be taken and so boats would be anchoring all over and in deeper water damaging more sea bed.
So more airlift is not going to help and so is not needed.
More hotels also not necessary as the Moorings and others have offered (stay on board). Much disliked and challenged by the hotel industry. Encourage this and no more hotels are needed!!
Only hotel really necessary is Prospect Reef, because stealing it from Investors and keeping it as an eyesore at Governments (the peoples) expense makes no sense. Make it a hotel or put green grass and a park.
Licensing Framework needs help as do all systems in the VI. The complicated procedures to get a charter yacht operational in the VI are prohibitive for everyone and help nothing. Remove all the barriers and the people in the business can operate easily. Make it cheaper for locals by all means but remember VI needs revenue. It has to come from somewhere.
We do not need more Marinas, we just need to free up space by having so many boats that just sit there.
You may need to check with insurance companies as the major reason for yachts leaving is that they cannot get insurance or it is overly expensive. No amount of space will solve that.
Marinas are just more land fill and more marina and boat eyesores where there used to be Mangroves and Coral Reef and public beaches.
The only intention that this seems to be building is the pursuit of money.
Surely for the VI and the people of the VI there should be more to the development of the Marine Industry than the purusuit of money and the destruction of the environment and locations that we have.
The first thing we need to ask is what do the VI people want the VI to be and then what is the best way to acheive that.
Looking at the current, twerking, gun toting, concrete landscaping ideas keeping on pursuing things like this and all we will have are guns, drugs, fast money and more dead people and naked dancing in the streets.
VI needs an intentional complete re-think.