BVI took its “lunch” off the table with new charter fees
Once upon a time in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, the USVI was a buzzing hub for yacht and charter-boat tourism.
Many visitors would land on islands like St. Thomas or St. John then charter a boat to cruise into BVI waters — perhaps doing a day sail, island-hop, or multi-day charter.
This created a chain of economic benefits. Boat crews worked, marinas filled with mooring rentals, and local suppliers supplied fuel, food, cleaning, and maintenance. Restaurants, hotels, and taxi drivers on both sides of the islands saw business. The charter-boat industry multiplied the economic effect many times over.
But in 2025, the BVI government overhauled its policies under the Commercial Recreational Vessel Licensing Act (CRVL), dramatically raising fees for “foreign-based” (mostly USVI) charter vessels. For example, day-charter licenses jumped from roughly US$200 to US$8,500 per year, while term charters now face fees of $7,500 for limited trips and $24,000 for unlimited access.
The impact was swift. As the 2025/2026 charter season began, at least 90 charter boats that once operated out of the USVI relocated their operations to the BVI, carrying with them an estimated $13.986 million in “direct” seasonal economic activity.
The ripple effects went even further: marinas, provisioning companies, cleaning services, local vendors — many now face steep losses. One charter-industry insider warned that cleaning companies are seeing 50% drops in business, with knock-on effects on wages, local spending, and livelihoods.
Meanwhile, BVI is celebrating a boom. At the 2025 BVI Charter Yacht Show (CYS), held in November, BVI’s leadership hailed record-breaking attendance: over 65 crewed yachts, over 170 international brokers, and dozens of local vendors participating — levels not seen even before the disruption of previous storms.
The show’s energy and turnout signalled that the BVI is poised to benefit from the shifted charter vessel base, expanded industry activity, and new streams of revenue for both the government and local businesses.
For the USVI, however, the story is darker. Charter companies and their supporting networks have lost a chunk of business, jobs are threatened, and local economies tied to maritime tourism are reeling. A delegation from the USVI has “gone to Washington,” appealing for federal attention and support as they face economic fallout from the BVI’s new fee regime.
In short, by raising charter-vessel fees, BVI has raised the proverbial gate, and many operators walked over it, relocating their businesses and their money. The BVI now basks in increased business, high broker interest, and a thriving charter vessel season. The USVI, once a vibrant starting point for much of the chartering activity, now confronts a shrinking charter industry triggered by what some see as the BVI finally removing their “lunch” from the table.
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Most of the company’s just moved back home
dollar losing value day by day, them archaic fees had need increasing.
Doubly so, fees at the Bath’s need increasing.. again. The overcrowding has to stop, the lustre and allure of that wonder will go to shit if intervention is not had. Create safe, new routes over the Boulders, open up the flow if the plan is to keep the same # of visitors.
Propaganda piece? What’s up BVI News? Who actually wrote this?
the fees i must say are brutal to just arrive all at once, but its good the boats have relocated to the BVI
Literally one of the worst article I’ve read on this site.
The value is largely not in where these boats are based; it’s on how many of them are bringing tourists into the BVI to spend their money. The services provided to guests on yachts by restaurants, bars, and taxi drivers far outweigh those provided by local repairers and travel much further in our economy. The businesses that actually keep money in the economy here are now deprived of the USVI dollar, at least to some extent.
The yachting industry has a long history of abandoning destinations which overtax and over-regulate it. The USVI is but one example in the 1990s.
Did the rates need to go up? Yes. Undoubtedly. But this is foolish planning from people who have not taken time to understand the industry, how it works, or how the BVI benefits. Continued rhetoric from government shills about how much a charter costs fails to account for why those prices are so high and the nonexistent profit margin. Yacht owners are not raking in the cash. For the most part, they intend to lose a little to garner a tax benefit in the US. The money made in the BVI and circulating here comes from local businesses providing services to yachts.
Our marinas have been full for many years now, so new yachts coming in means other yachts leaving or phasing out. This is part of the normal process, but has been propagandised. The only thing changing is that we will see less of our “overflow” coming from the USVI because of all this bad blood. This ultimately ends in a net negative benefit to the BVI and its economy.
Dave your logic makes no sense. If BVI marinas are full, then boats will not be able to transfer from the USVI to the bvi and thus either have to pay the fee or dont sail bvi waters.
Even if more than 50% of the boats stop sailing the bvi the remain boats will more than make up for any economic loss with the increase fees. With the added benefit of reducing crowding. This is completely within the prerogative of the BVI government. The previous fees were laughably low.
I can still hear the St Thomian’s chortling during COVID when all of the boats were over there and we had no work!!
It was absurd that their boats could pay a small fee and charter here year round, while our boats had to have companies, work permits, other fees, duty on all the products used on the boats.
For years we petitioned our government to restrict the number of charters originating in the USVI. Our government chose the increase in fees to accomplish that; it gets the fees, we get the work!
They were laughing they were eating OUR lunch, remember?
The charter industry was NEVER the USVI own! NEVER! They got to eat BVI lunch during the lockdown of COVID for those couple years. The same companies left BVI and moved to USVI to continue their business and keep themselves “afloat” (pun intended). But the world knows that USVI really has not charter yacht industry at all. Those companies all just moved back home to the BVI. USVI needs to stop the noise acting like spoiled children.
BVInews how much were you paid for this hit piece???
Ayo ovah deh SLUXXIN down what used to be our FREE lunches!!
That is why we ain’t having no more Friendship Day!
Da nerve of ayo BVIslanders!!! USS Ford on its way back up here to sort ayo out…
BVI boating industry is, and has been for over 40 years, a pillar of the BVI economy. Jobs, tourism, economic growth. Sailing / sailing vacations is why the BVI has build itself with boating entertainment in mind – meaning mooring for dive & snorkel sites, day time visits and overnight stays. Restaurants and entertainment on undeveloped islands, nestled is private bays. Businesses in the BVI need and thrive from sailing tourism – because that is what we are built to cater to.
If the USVI wants to get in on the action – make the USVI more entertaining for your guests – and stop trying to take business AWAY from the BVI / from the companies and people that work so hard to make it what it is.
The BVI government has a way of shooting itself in the foot. They have created a bureaucratic nightmare that serves only those involved in preserving their government jobs. nothing wrong with the rate increases, it’s just the umpteen approvals from umpteen government offices. We’ve become the proverbial “Banana Republic”, with everyone waiting with their hand out.
St. Vincent makes it easy to spend money there. The Bahamas make it easy to spend money there.
Here I fixed your article for you.
Once upon a time in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, before international diplomacy devolved into a middle-school cafeteria fight, the USVI was a buzzing launchpad for yacht charters.
Visitors would fly into St. Thomas or St. John, grab a Painkiller, board a boat, and glide gracefully into BVI waters — all without triggering an international incident. Crews worked, marinas earned money, taxi drivers smiled, restaurants served conch fritters, and everyone prospered without anyone needing to hire a trade negotiator.
But then came The Great Trade War of 2025, the kind of brilliant geopolitical strategy that could only have been invented after one too many rum punches.
The BVI, under its shiny new Commercial Recreational Vessel Licensing Act (CRVL), decided that “foreign-based vessels” (also known as: their neighbors who bring them money) should pay more. Not a little more — more in the sense of “from US$200 a year to US$8,500,” because nothing says “welcome, friend” like an invoice that looks like a ransom note.
Term charters? $7,500 to $24,000, depending on how badly you want to hop islands without offering your firstborn.
Naturally, charter operators did what any rational business would do when someone sets their lawn on fire — they left. Nearly 100 boats packed up and sailed into the BVI full-time, taking nearly $14 million in seasonal economic activity with them, along with the collective will to live of USVI marina managers.
Meanwhile, in the BVI, the 2025 Charter Yacht Show looked like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Over 65 yachts, 170 brokers, vendors everywhere — a booming celebration of their newly imported prosperity. Confetti may or may not have included shredded USVI economic reports.
But wait — the plot thickens.
Because the real reason behind the fee increases, according to island gossip, bar-stool economists, and at least one guy named “Skipper Mike,” wasn’t just revenue. No, no.
The shipping registry, deprived of its—shall we say—alternative fundraising division after both the governor and the director of the registry were arrested and convicted in the U.S. for a little side hustle involving the import-export of cocaine, allegedly needed a new income stream.
And presto: charter fees went up faster than a dinghy in a squall.
Think of it as replacing one import-export business with another — just with more paperwork and fewer submarines.
Back in the USVI, however, the vibe was less “Caribbean dream” and more “economic meltdown lite.” Marinas emptied. Cleaning crews saw business drop by 50%. Provisioning companies cried into their pallets of unsold rum. A delegation rushed to Washington D.C. to explain that, no, the USVI had not suddenly lost its charm — just its charter boats.
In short, the BVI raised the drawbridge, the USVI walked face-first into it, and the shipping registry patched its financial hole by turning charter operators into unwilling donors.
The BVI is now popping champagne.
The USVI is popping antacids.
And somewhere in federal prison, two former officials are probably wondering if starting a trade war was really worth losing their side gig.
First rule of business: make it easy for your customer to spend money. We missed that class, I guess. Is our product our general tourism product? Or government fees?
Free market economics.
BVI now too crowded; flooded with charterers. Back to St Vincent and the Grenadines or Grenada.
The US implements whatever policies it feels like and could care less about the direct impact that the policies have on other nations (including the BVI). We have to suck it up and live with it. It is therefore very difficult for me to understand why the USVI believes that they are entitled to easy access to our resources and even worse, they are trying to bully the BVI. This makes no sense. Instead of crying over spilled milk, they need to step up to the plate by developing their marine products. Instead of pressuring the federal government to bully the BVI, they need to beg them to pump $$$ into the industry so that they can be just as vibrant.