2 local jetties to be named domestic ports
A jetty in the BVI.
At least two jetties in the British Virgin Islands are being officially changed to domestic ports of entry.
The Trellis Bay jetty on Beef Island and the Setting Point jetty on Anegada are the facilities currently undergoing the change, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Works Anthony McMaster has said.
According to McMaster, the docks have seen an increase in activity since recently and the time is now ripe to hand them over to the BVI Ports Authority.
Currently, the Public Works Department have responsibility for the jetties. Those responsibilities largely include daily upkeep and maintenance.
“We are hoping that, at the end of July, we can have them officially transferred over but obviously there are some processes that are required in order for it to happen,” he told BVI News yesterday July 5.
“As a tourist destination, one thing we want to make sure is whether its residents or visitors will be able to utilize it in an orderly fashion,” McMaster explained.
Benefits of becoming a domestic port
The Permanent Secretary said residents and visitors can expect to see visible changes to the facilities once they are handed over and become ports of entry.
“They [the jetties] will have the correct security measures in place, the proper facilities for operation and any other things that would go with a port of entry including the proper lighting, the designated areas for conducting transactions, scheduling for ferry services, etcetera.”
He said once the jetty change over process is complete, the Captain Owen Harrigan Visitor Centre in Gun Creek along with the two aforementioned jetties will be renovated. The three facilities had received varying levels of damage in the 2017 hurricanes.
The Gun Creek facility has been closed to the public for some time now. However, is still unofficially being used as a jetty.
The territory’s current marine ports of entry are located in Road Town, Tortola, West End, Tortola, Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke, the St Thomas Bay, Virgin Gorda, and Gun Creek Virgin Gorda.
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I applaud this. Long overdue.
Great, now about the West End ….
Thanks to the BVI Tourist Board for pushing hard on this issue. Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
The west end Jetty, service the visitors entering from st.Thomas especially on private vessels. Those coming from south, like st marten can go virgin Gorda or Road Town .
Why stretch resources to do trellis bay now . Customs immigration over worked as it is.
I mean what are we thinking. We need to fix West end and Road town Jetty so more than one boat can clear at a time.
Just another opportunity to issue a major contract and buy the Beef Island taxi men votes.
Not a thing wrong with visitors from STt going to road town to clear until there are facilities in West end. I would love to clear in St John like before but I have to travel to Charlotte Amalie and understand why. I Things will get better soon enough.
Nonsense this is to you, have you ever been up North? Wake at 3am to catch a flight leaving at 6am, a connection in Miami to reach STT 2pm to 4pm. The last ferry NOW leave STT. at 4:15 to ferry ALL the way to town and return to a villa or charter boat in sophers hole (west end).Think like a tourist, since that is the new order of the dày!!!
Does the word DOMESTIC ring a bell for you?
Where in the world two boats can clear at the same time and the same immigration and customs must clear the passengers?
We go to the USVI and sit on boats for looooong periods waiting on immigrations, who could care less, to clear one vessel and we want to pressure the BVI authorities to jump the moon.
Read the news. The immigration officers are too busy allegedly ROBBING WOMEN ON VIRGIN GORDA to process people through customs HAHAHAHA
Miss stop been silly we are talking about been able to stand inside the building with a/c. There is not enough space. Boats cant even dock they have to be out in the harbor in WestEnd.
Why do we have to follow ST.Thomas if they are doing something wrong why do we have to follow and not improve.
There is a reason why we are the yachting capital of the world and the leading offshore jurisdiction and they are not.
It clearly shows that you have not ventured outside these little islands. This is why there are international ports of entry in bigger places. Example Puerto Rico, more than one flight is cleared at a time. You think the plane circles in the air till one is finished clearing? No small minded, I born here!
Nice. good move since the spanish town marina is a joke mess
Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor is NOT a port of entry
I just mean its nice to clean up gun creek and the facilities. bathroom, boat slips, food, shops, ice, fuel.. imagine that
Not a thing wrong with visitors from STt going to road town to clear until there are facilities in West end. I would love to clear in St John like before but I have to travel to Charlotte Amalie and understand why. I Things will get better soon enough.
How about this. we put one customs agent on each boat coming into west end or r/town and start processing while boat is headed our way. This way when the people get here they only need to go through security? with the computer age there’s no reason it can’t be done. the lines are very long for folks who have traveled most of the day.
The best idea of the day