The British Virgin Island’s government passed a revised Charter Act last year that raised the fees for USVI based charter companies drastically. Plus, they raised the fees on visiting cruising boats to levels seen nowhere else in the Caribbean.
Andrea King, who owns and manages Island Yacht Charters based in Red Hook, St. Thomas, USVI wrote to me recently about the BVI fees:
“In case you were not aware, the BVI Government has put draconian regulations and outrageous fees and red tape in place, starting in 2022, that prevent our vessels from going to the BVI unless we pay extorsion level fees and comply with ridiculous red tape. In June of 2025 they raised the 2022 fees by up to 6000%.
“It is a nightmare situation to say the least. I would need to pay $24,000/per year for each of our boats to have unfettered access to the BVI. Half of our cruising ground is off limits to us! It’s a business killer!”
As we all know, the BVIs host the largest charter fleets in the world that accommodate tens of thousands of charter guests annually. The Moorings, Sunsail, Dream Yacht Charters and many others are the island nation’s largest employers and the most significant source of local revenue.
The new fees for USVI-based charter boats are $1,200 per boat per visit, a cost that effectively slams the door on the USVI charter companies. So, Island Yacht Charters, Waypoint Charters and others now offer the USVI and the Spanish Virgin Islands as charter destinations.
Andrea King noted: “Island Yachts (www.iyc.vi) is the oldest bareboat yacht charter company in the US Virgin Islands (soon to be 50 in 2027). It was founded by Skip King, my husband, who I lost in 2025. You can see a tribute to Skip on our site that will help you learn about the fine man he was and how he contributed to our industry and the USVI community.”
Island Yacht Charters has always focused on building fleets of proper cruising boats. For many years they stocked Island Packets and now are building their fleet with Tartan Yachts models.
With the new law, the BVI’s government also is squeezing visiting cruising boats with onerous fees. Cruising permits now cost $16 per day per person on the boat, the National Parks’ fee is up to $55 per week, the Environmental fee is $10 per person, and the VISAR fee is $2 per person.
While the BVI government are obviously protecting their local charter companies and all the jobs they create, they also are slamming the door on visitors, both charter customers and private cruising boats, who also contribute to the local economy.
Read a tribute to Skip King here.
Learn more about Island Yacht Charters here.
