The British Virgin Island\u2019s 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 leves seen nowhere else in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
Andrea King, who owns and manages Island Yacht Charters based in Red Hook, St. Thomas, USVI wrote to me recently about the BVI fees:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn case you were not aware, the\u00a0BVI\u00a0Government has put draconian regulations and outrageous fees and red tape in place, starting in 2022, that prevent our vessels from going to the\u00a0BVI\u00a0unless we pay extorsion level fees and comply with ridiculous red tape.\u00a0 In June of 2025 they raised the 2022 fees by up to 6000%.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a nightmare situation to say the least.\u00a0I would need to pay $24,000\/per year for each of our boats to have unfettered access to the\u00a0BVI.\u00a0 Half of our cruising ground is off limits to us!\u00a0 It\u2019s a business killer!\u201d<\/p>\n
As we all know, the BVIs host the largest charter fleets int the world that accommodate tens of thousands of charter guests annually. The Moorings, Sunsail, Dream Yacht Charters and many others are the island nation\u2019s largest employers and the most significant source of local revenue.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 So, Island Yacht Charters, Waypoint Charters and others now offer the USVI and the Spanish Virgin Islands as charter destinations.<\/p>\n
Andrea King noted: \u201cIsland Yachts (www.iyc.vi<\/a>) is the oldest bareboat yacht charter company in the US Virgin Islands (soon to be 50 in 2027).\u00a0 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n With the new law, the BVI\u2019s 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\u2019 fee is up to $55 per week, the Environmental fee is $10 per person, and the VISAR fee is $2 per person.<\/p>\n While the BVI government are obviously protecting their local charter companies and all the jobs they create, they also are slamming the door visitors, both carter customers and private cruising boats, who also contribute to the local economy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n