Premier blasts Marine Association President Andrew Ball as 'disingenuous'
Premier Wheatley was the guest on Talking Points on Monday, March 10, 2025, on ZBVI 780 AM, where he discussed the issues that arose due to the Commercial Recreational Vessels Licensing (Amendment) Bill 2024.
One of the proposed amendments is increased licensing fees for charter yacht operators. These increased fees would affect the flat yearly rate boating businesses from the United States Virgin Islands pay to conduct business in Virgin Islands (VI) waters.
‘We had heavy consultations’- Premier Wheatley
Premier Wheatley told Talking Points Co-host Elvin G. Grant, “We proposed some fees we thought were appropriate. We consulted heavily with our local industry. I have to say to you I was somewhat disappointed from the letter from the President of the Marine Association, Mr Andrew Ball. I think [it is] disingenuous in certain ways.”
According to Dr Wheatley, Mr Ball in his February 2025 letter, suggested there were no consultations before the proposed amendments were crafted.
“We had heavy consultations and the industry suggested more consultations and we had more consultations,” the Premier reiterated, “We had a series of meetings, as a result of those meetings, we made many changes to the proposed legislation.”
No victimisation- Premier Wheatley
Premier Wheatley added that Mr Ball’s letter also suggested that people were afraid of being victimised and said that there was no such thing.
“The environment in the BVI is, you know it’s amazing sometimes some of the actions which persons take in the BVI and flagrant acts of disrespect towards leadership and it’s not an environment where people, anybody, seems fearful of “victimisation”,” he stated.
The Premier said he does not believe people should be victimised for sharing their views, however, it should be expressed in a respectful manner.
“To suggest that persons were fearful of victimisation I think is disingenuous,” he stated again.
Letter suggested efforts to keep USVI boats away- Grant
Mr Grant added that he also thinks the letter suggested the proposed amendments to the law were “designed to keep USVI boats out of BVI waters and not to enhance the regulatory structure in the BVI”.
Premier Wheatley replied that he does not think that is the case.
“I think what the legislation is designed to do is to, first of all, create a local regime and a foreign regime; the old legislation didn’t do that and ensure that persons are not “gaming” the system,” he explained.
Dr Wheatley stated the VI likes the business coming from the USVI.
“We are very dependent on it in places like Jost van Dyke and places like that, we don’t want to stop it from coming, that is certainly not my goal, and that’s not the goal of those persons who are supporting me, and that’s not really something that you know we would like to see happen, we would like to see the traffic continue to come,” he said.
The Premier also said he believes Mr Ball’s letter does not reflect the views of the entire marine association.
“He signed it as president but we’ve had several persons from the Marine Association. In fact, I was given a letter which said Mr Ball’s letter does not reflect their views,” Premier Wheatley disclosed.
Work being done to digitise the system- Premier Wheatley
Meantime, Premier Wheatley said there is no denying that the processes need to be more efficient and effective.
“That’s something I think that Mr Ball was putting forward and we are actually taking steps to do that, to digitise the process and so persons would be able to buy their license online,” Premier Wheatley continued.
He explained that the government had taken steps towards digitising the system with a payment gateway through Banco Popular. Other departments have moved services online as well, enabling the purchase of these services.
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36 Responses to “Premier blasts Marine Association President Andrew Ball as 'disingenuous'”
More than a few "citizens" sitting on the same board of directors...
Your comment reeks of bigotry.
if you have to pay to come its only fair. when we bvislanders travel we have to follow the entry laws and fees that we encounter in the different countries. usvi boaters if you want to visit you just have to pay the fees. its time we safeguard our own local charter boats industry.
That's what they do. They try to paint a negative picture of you. Do not trust these folks. Its not racism, its a fact. They will smile in your face and then stab you in your back.
Finally, the amending act only serves to double, if not treble, the already onerous amount of red tape involved for the affected parties. As usual, we find the government dumping their duties and responsibilities back onto the private sector. This is completely unacceptable.
Hopefully he doesn’t intend to rely on great support from one of the largest employment groups in the territory. This exhibited poor attitude spells a poor outlook for much needed inward investment.
Dear leader is not being honest with us. Hopefully the raw text of the letter will be made public for all to see as proof. Dear leader’s actions are surely proof enough meanwhile.