Parks chief denies sale plan as cruise access row deepens

The head of the National Parks Trust has flatly denied that The Baths or any other protected site in the Virgin Islands is being sold, as controversy intensifies over a plan to restrict visitor access to two popular parks.

In a video posted to social media on September 25, Dr Cassander P. Titley-O'Neal addressed what she called "misinformation" circulating online. "They never have been, and they never will be" for sale, she said of the parks.

The row centres on a proposal to reserve The Baths and Devil's Bay National Parks exclusively for a luxury cruise line during certain morning hours. The National Parks Trust justified the idea by pointing to surging visitor numbers and mounting conservation expenses. In the first quarter of 2026, the territory welcomed 612,263 visitors, a 24 per cent jump on the same quarter the previous year, with 493,397 arriving by cruise ship.

Yet the plan has provoked strong pushback. Two members of the NPT's board, Shereen D. Flax-Charles and Lawrence Wheatley, stated they had "absolutely no prior knowledge" of any arrangement to give cruise operators or other commercial interests special access rights. District Nine Representative Vincent O. Wheatley, who holds the health and social services portfolio, declared that The Baths and Devil's Bay "must remain open and accessible" to the public.

Dr Titley-O'Neal outlined the legal history of The Baths, noting it was acquired through compulsory purchase by the House of Assembly in 1987 and formally designated a national park in 1990. The trust oversees 22 national parks across the islands, several with cultural and historical value. Beyond day-to-day management, she explained, the organisation conducts research and conservation work throughout the territory. Five sites have now been classified as historical sites under development.