BVI risks hostile state label over charter fee dispute, USVI governor warns

The BVI could be designated a hostile state by the United States, potentially triggering travel advisories and stricter border controls, if the territory fails to resolve its dispute with Washington over marine charter fees, the outgoing USVI governor has warned.

Albert Bryan Jr. made the warning at a press conference, saying the standoff carries serious risks for BVI travellers and the tourism sector. He described the scenario: the US could issue travel warnings to the BVI or impose visa-related difficulties that would discourage visitors.

Bryan acknowledged he had not directly discussed a hostile state designation with federal officials, but said such measures were within Washington's reach. "What they're risking now, with the aggressive actions that the U.S. has taken on visas, is creating a hardship on their border for people coming in or out," he said. "The U.S. doing something like issuing a travel warning to a hostile state, which would be the BVI."

The governor indicated that US federal authorities are pressing for tougher measures against the BVI over fees charged to USVI-based charter vessels. "They have just raised rates again, but our federal partners really want a more aggressive approach to this," Bryan revealed, noting further talks were planned.

Bryan travelled recently to Tortola for dinner with Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley to seek a settlement. His team proposed that USVI-based operators pay 50 percent more than their BVI counterparts for registration. Bryan characterised this as a reasonable compromise.

The BVI government has not accepted the proposal, Bryan suggested. Instead, BVI officials have sought relaxed border restrictions and requested that immigration pre-clearance be set up in Tortola, allowing travellers to clear US immigration before leaving the BVI.

Bryan said his administration supports pre-clearance as it would streamline travel between the territories. He stressed that the USVI does not wish harm to the BVI. "The BVI are our partners. We don't want to see anything negative happen to them," he said.

Bryan framed the dispute as a matter of international concern. "This has moved beyond the Virgin Islands because you're impeding trade on an international border. And the U.S. doesn't stand for that, especially not this president," he stated.