The Virgin Islands Port Authority held its second public hearing on proposed marine tariff hikes before a packed house Tuesday night on St. Thomas, with many voicing disapproval about the increases for everything from barge travel to pilotage fees during the meeting that lasted more than three hours.
The third and final meeting will be held Wednesday night on St. Croix. The first meeting, on St. John Monday night, drew an overflow crowd, and the Port Authority said in a release Wednesday morning that it has added capacity for 500 to be able to attend tonight’s meeting via Zoom.
The proposed price increases would affect British Virgin Islands passenger wharfage and ship dues, docking fees, pilotage, barge ramp fees, cargo overflow staging fees, and parking fees. If approved they would be implemented on Jan. 1, 2026 and will go towards operations of the Port Authority. Fee increases range from $1 for items like ship dues, up to $600 per gross ton for pilotage.
The presentation and current and proposed marine tariffs are available for download at the Port Authority’s website.
Executive Director Carlton Dowe highlighted the responsibilities of the authority at Tuesday’s meeting, noting that funding for its operations — as an autonomous, self-sustaining agency that does not receive government money — mainly comes from tenant rentals and port user fees. Repairs and renovation projects, and the structural integrity of docks and terminals, especially on St. John, remain pressing concerns, with assessments revealing severe deterioration requiring extensive renovations, he said.
Currently, St. John has three marine projects at the Victor William Sewer Marine Facility, Theovald Moorehead Dock and Terminal, and the Loredon Lorence Boynes Sr. Dock, with the latter requiring the most work.
“It’s going to take some significant work with our projects to keep our facilities going for decades to come,” said Jamen Descartes, senior engineering project manager for the Port Authority.
Of the Boynes Sr. Dock, he added, “It’s going to be a challenging project to complete, but we’re going to get it done. … It’s going to take some talented contractors to get it done.”
Of all the facilities, the Boynes Sr. Dock is reportedly in the worst condition. Two dinghy docks need repairs and there is significant under-deck deterioration. Dowe said the marine facilities are ranked on a scale of 2 to 5, with 2 being “serious” and 5 being “satisfactory.”
On St. Thomas, the Austin Babe Monsanto Marine Terminal, Crown Bay Cargo Port, Charles F. Blair Seaplane Terminal, and Edward Wilmoth Blyden IV Marine Terminal received a 4, or “fair,” rank. The Urman Victor Fredericks Marine Terminal received a 5, and on St. Croix, the Theovald Moorehead Dock and Terminal, Svend Aage Ovesen Jr. Seaplane Terminal, and Gordon A. Finch Molasses Pier received a 5. The Gallows Bay Marine Facility, Wilfred “Bomba” Allick Port and Transshipment Center, and Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility received a 3, or “poor,” rank.
Additionally, at the Fredericks Marine Terminal in Red Hook, roof and guttering repairs are needed as well as a redesign of the U.S. Customs facility, as the authority anticipates travelers from the BVI clearing customs on St. Thomas instead of St. John.
“If you come from the BVI, you now have to stop in St. John. Sometimes that can take you two to three hours before you could clear,” said Dowe. “What we will be doing with this project is allowing for folks to come down, directly from the BVI and stop in Red Hook.”
On St. Croix, the “Bomba” Allick Terminal and Abramson Marine facilities will undergo repairs, while the Gallows Bay Marine Facility will be demolished and repurposed, with tenants relocated to the Gordon Finch Marine Terminal, according to Dowe.
Additionally, both gantry cranes on St. Thomas and St. Croix are more than 30 years old and need replacing at $7 million apiece, he said, as parts for the aging equipment are now obsolete. During questioning from the audience, it was also revealed that the cranes are leased to Tropical Shipping, and subleased in turn. Attendees hinted at the need for better oversight of resources being leased.
“The Port Authority choose anybody who wants to use that crane, and does that business, can use it, but for a fee. The Port Authority has no one that operates that crane,” said Dowe.
Additionally, concrete spalling, or deterioration, issues and dredging are among some of the areas that need attention at marine facilities.
While Dowe made the case for the fee increases, attendees remained skeptical.
Kristen Cox, a resident of St. John, highlighted the inconvenient toll booth and barge fees for residents, especially the additional $2 per person upcharge proposed for barge travelers. She acknowledged that when travelling by plane, Port Authority fees are already included in airline ticket prices, but said it is inconvenient for St. John residents who have no choice but to travel home by boat from St. Thomas.
“St. John is the breadbasket of the Virgin Islands,” she said. “We have to either pay a taxi, at $25 a person or more … or in addition to your luggage fees, then you get to the ferry,” she said. “All in all, it’s about $80 for us, as a single person, per person, to get home to St. John.”
Dowe responded that the authority’s fees have not been raised for 19 years, though the barge companies have raised their fees more than twice during that time, he said.
Marjorie Smith, of Smith’s Ferry Services, asked whether the authority could start collecting its own port fees instead of relying on the ferry companies to collect them from their customers.
Dowe reminded her that though port fees have been added and collected by ferry companies, the ferry companies also increased the fees and added an extra $2 to passenger tickets for their own gain.
Later, Junie Hendricks of Road Town Fast Ferry, who opposed the increases, addressed Dowe about his 100-foot boat and the current docking fees.
“So, we paying $100 for the docking fee. Now we going up there with the proposed one, we would be paying $250,” said Hendricks.
He added that he wouldn’t be opposed to an increase with a final fee of $125 or $150, but calmly said that the Port Authority board knows he and others would “put up a fight” over the current proposed increases.
Lorelei Monsanto, a St. John resident, raised the issue of parking spaces contracted to businessman Paul Hoffman at the Cruz Bay parking lot and funding issues, especially surrounding GARVEE bonds, which are typically used for major projects receiving federal funding. Imani Daniel asked about the authority’s financial records and evidence for the fee hikes, while also highlighting citations by the Federal Aviation Administration, which fined the Port Authority in 2023 for improper maintenance of the runway at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. One attendee grew passionate when addressing the proposed increases, saying to Dowe, “God ain’t finished with all you yet,” and added that the Port Authority should team up with the Department of Planning and Natural Resources to collect fees from boaters occupying local waters.
While many voiced dissatisfaction with the proposed fee hikes, some were more positive.
“Mr. Dowe, good ideas, in the end, you going have to raise fees,” said Collister Fahie. He added, “I don’t think that we got a real money problem, I think we got a management problem.”
Attendees also asked whether the Port Authority board has made its final vote on the matter. Dowe said it has not been finalized.
Throughout the hearing, many concerns were raised and a plethora of questions were asked by the audience. Dowe and his staff addressed all, however, due to the overwhelming number of questions and the intricacy of some, Dowe encouraged some attendees to reach out to Monifa Marrero-Brathwaite, public information officer, with their remaining concerns. She can be reached at 340-774-1629. The meeting ended after 9 p.m.
The St. Croix meeting is scheduled for Wednesday (tonight) at 6 p.m. at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport Terminal VIPA Conference Room on the second floor. Residents may also attend via Zoom by registering at www.viport.com/events (meeting capacity has been expanded to 500 participants).
Monday’s public hearing on St. John can be found here.
St. Croix Source
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