VI positioned ‘to compete’ in trillion-dollar global maritime market- Hon Rymer
Hon Rymer made the revelation during remarks at the opening of the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) Inaugural PortVision Conference at Maria’s by the Sea on October 1, 2026.
More than 3000 internationally owned ships registered
“Our maritime reach is expanding beyond our shores. The Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Authority, VISMA, has unveiled a dual pathway strategy to grow beyond yacht registration into merchant vessel flagging, positioning the BVI to compete for a share of the trillion-dollar global maritime market.”
Hon Rymer added that with more than 3,000 internationally owned ships already registered under the Virgin Islands flag, “we have the foundation. Now is the time to build on it.”
Ship registration is the legal process of recording a vessel in a national registry, giving it nationality, a unique identity, and the right to fly that country’s flag under established laws.
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7 Responses to “VI positioned ‘to compete’ in trillion-dollar global maritime market- Hon Rymer”
Create a government-run or subsidize a local fishing company and start packaging and exporting our world class seafood variety. We already have a customer base in the charter industry and overnight visitors, I can almost guarantee they'd love the opportunity to have BVI seafood from the comfort of their homes. Set up outlet fish markets near hotspots in america where tourists to the islands live. This addresses our trade deficit head on, creates direct jobs for the trade-oriented class instead of them depending on bush cutting contracts and gives incentives for us a nation to really cherish and nurture our resources.
Reinvest in local boatyards; build, maintain and continually upgrade our dockage facilities, dry and wet. As much revenue as the Moorings generate, for a company claiming top charter company in the caribbean, or world at that, they can do better to maintain and upgrade its dock facilities. Just for example, there are many more cases like that some more extreme than others, but we gotta start at home.
This is only the surface, I'd imagine that there are dozens more strategic legistive decisions that can maximize our current positioning and reposition us as not just the sailing capital of the world but as the absolute global maritime authority. We gotta think biggest.