VIPA holds public hearing on cruise passenger fee increase

ST. THOMAS — The V.I. Port Authority held a public hearing Tuesday on St. Thomas, where Executive Director Carlton Dowe worked to quell anxiety in the business community about increases to cruise ship passenger fees.

Dowe said the increases are necessary to fund dredging of St. Thomas Harbor, where the West Indian Company oversees a cruise ship dock. The Port Authority manages the cruise port in Crown Bay, but is required by law to maintain all public harbors, including dredging when necessary, Dowe said. In September, the Port Authority governing board approved an increase in port dues by $3 per passenger, from $6.84 to $9.84, and an increase in wharfage fees by 44 cents from $7.80 to $8.24. The effective date of the wharfage increase at the WICO dock is Jan. 1, while fees at the Crown Bay and St. John ports will change on April 1, Dowe said. There is no change to St. Croix fees.

The existing fees have been used to pay the Port Authority’s 300 employees and maintain the cruise ports, including pilot captains and vessels. “There was never a dedicated fee that the Port Authority collected solely for dredging,” Dowe said, and the increase is expected to raise around $3 million annually. The V.I. government has set aside $17 million for dredging St. Thomas Harbor, but Dowe said that will not cover the full cost, and the Port Authority won’t know the total expense of the project until they go through the bid process. “The bid will give us a better indication of what that cost will be,” Dowe said.