On Friday, during the Port Authority’s monthly governing board meeting, news of new travel options for visitors to the territory and the impact of relations with cargo partners were highlighted.
During the director’s report, Carlton Dowe welcomed Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Sea and Contour Airlines. The cruise, Royal Caribbean’s newest addition, made its maiden voyage at the Austin “Babe” Monsanto Marine Terminal in Crown Bay, St. Thomas, on Sept. 10. According to the director, it accommodates up to 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew members.
“In the coming year or so, Royal Caribbean expects to roll out new ships this same Icon class,” said Dowe.
Regarding Contour Airlines, each flight will accommodate up to 30 passengers. The airline will have direct flights to Dominica on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at the Cyril E. King Airport.
“It’s no secret that in St. Thomas-St. John, we have a huge Dominican population. A lot of the folks that does construction in this territory, that’s where they hail from,” said Dowe.
Flight services for the airline began on Sept. 24. The director added that inquiries have been made regarding flights from the territory to other Caribbean islands and responded that, “No airline is going to engage in a route where they don’t feel it’s profitable,” indicating it is not solely up to the Port Authority’s discretion as to what flights can be added.
More so, during the meeting, Dowe shared with the board that he and his staff met with Tropical Shipping to get an update on their needs, future projects, and to strengthen the partnership with the corporation.
“Just about everything we consume come through our ports,” he said.
Dowe highlighted that Tropical Shipping currently occupies several bays at the St. Croix container port.
“The new bays we have built in St. Croix, the Bomba Allick Terminal, which is fortysomething thousand square feet, they already, Tropical, have four, five, bays that they operate from now, as we speak,” he said, and added that the company plans to expand.
Dowe mentioned that maintaining a strong relationship with partners like Tropical Shipping can be very beneficial for the authority.
“When Port Authority did not have the resources, we did not want to expend millions of dollars to be able to get the Department of Transportation grant, it was Tropical and Crowley who put the matching funds for the grant,” said Dowe.
Board member, Celestino White Sr., asked about tariff changes due to additions he noticed in the national news.
“Has Tropical Shipping expressed any concerns as it relates to new tariffs?” questioned White.
“No,” responded Dowe. “Neither Tropical, Crowley, nor Priority Roro, we didn’t have that discussion.”
Additionally, the executive director informed the board that the public-private-partnership, or P3, process is still ongoing, regarding the airports, and that “Staff and I had a working meeting with representatives from Royal Caribbean/CTI in Miami, Florida, as we continue to work feverishly on the Crown Bay Development Project.”
Lastly, the board voted to approve recent poll votes during Friday’s meeting. After August’s board meeting, Sept. 2, a poll vote was unanimously approved by board members Willard John, Derek Gabriel, Leona Smith, Gordon Rhea, Jennifer Matarangas-King, and Kevin Rodriguez. The vote granted the execution of the FY2025 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) Project No. 3-78-0001-058-2025, FY2025 Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Project No. 3-78-0001-059-2025, and FY2025 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) Project No. 3-78-0001-064-2025, allowing improvements to be made to the Cyril E. King runway and airport.
On Sept. 16, a poll vote was unanimously approved by board members John, Gabriel, Smith, and Rodriguez for the Federal Aviation Administration FY 2025 Airport Infrastructure Grant Agreement Grant Number 3-78-0002-049-2025, allowing improvements to be made to the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.
Lastly, on Sept. 23, a poll vote was taken and unanimously approved by John, Smith, Rodriguez, Rhea, and Matarangas-King for ticket counter space at the King Airport for Contour Airlines. Friday’s board unanimously voted to approve all three poll votes.
Board members John, Gabriel, Rhea, Smith, and White were present. Matarangas-King and Rodriguez were absent.
St. Croix Source
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