Premier dodges questions at press conference!
Questioned during a press conference held with members of the media today, October 18, 2013, Dr Smith said, “Everything is above board, we would not be making a statement if everything was not above board.”
Dr Smith continued, “The fact is we have engaged and will continue to engage all the stakeholders to make sure that we develop the cruise pier so that it will be to the benefit of the cruise industry and essentially the entire BVI.”
The leader of government business was however less forthcoming when questioned about his government’s specific approach to Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) following reports that CCL will make calls at alternative ports as government’s stated intention is to proceed with berthing agreement negotiations with Disney Cruise Line (DCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).
Asked whether government will continue to move forward with berthing agreements with NCL and DCL following concerns aired by taxi operators on October 17, 2013, Dr Smith said, “We are moving forward with the development of the cruise project [and] we are in discussions with all the cruise lines including Carnival.”
Dr Smith added that his government would like to see all the cruise lines coming to the Virgin Islands (VI) and said discussions will continue in this regard.
Although he has not yet personally spoken to CCL since reports of their withdrawal for the 2014-2016 cruise seasons surfaced, the Premier stated that he intended to do so at the earliest opportunity.
When asked whether government had made a mis-step in approaching DCL and NCL without adequately consulting local stakeholders, including taxi and tour operators, Dr Smith said Minister for Communications and Works Hon. Mark H. Vanterpool, along with his ministry and the BVI Ports Authority have been in constant communication with various stakeholders from the inception of the cruise pier project.
While stating that he could not relate all the details of the discussions, the Premier said he knew there were continued discussions and said he believed that these discussions should continue.
Earlier, in addressing the issue of the cruise pier project, Dr Smith reiterated his government’s commitment to the development of the cruise pier and said it was critical for the pier to be lengthened in order to accommodate larger ships and increase the number of cruise visitors to the Territory.
“We will continue to engage all the stakeholders of the development including the cruise lines, their representatives, taxi drivers and tour operators." Premier Smith said, "I want to be clear, we want all cruise lines to visit our port and will continue to engage them to try to achieve success in the best interest of the BVI.”
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