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Sep 23rd, 2024
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VINO story today Not a fan of Bishop Cline, but he appears to have gotten on Glenn's bus.
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Suggest Glenn gets copy of his outline to him..he has hit the nail on the head..for a change..
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Glenn for Minister of transportation!!
G
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The only flaw in business case to put a BVI Welcome Service in at STT that whisks visitors arriving by air in good comfort to a nice hassle free welcome to a Tortola visitor transportation hub is. The powers that be at STT and on St. Thomas want NO part of it. Then you have the problem of the entrenched ferry operators.
In any case anyone arriving by air should be cleared from the passenger manifest before the plane lands and should only be stopped by C&I for cause. That is how you welcome visitors. Every BVI minister should be given a paid trip to Denmark to see how a welcome service can be operated.
While we are at it can we simply merge the governments and tribes of Tortola and St. Thomas?
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Blyden Terminal IS the defacto "Tortola Visitor Transportation Hub". The major challenge on the STT side is the airport and ferry terminal taxi associations but I believe a bit of negotiation could eliminate that.
My proposal does not eliminate the existing ferry operators but presents a way for them to work together to finance a new fleet, reduce shore side fixed cost and boat operating costs, increase reservation rates and provide reliable convenient schedules. Everyone wins if a few people would just take their heads out of the sand and cooperate with each other.
Last edited by GlennA; 11/21/2016 03:49 PM.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. - Mark Twain
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Blyden Terminal IS the defacto "Tortola Visitor Transportation Hub" What I was trying to communicate was a central gathering hub to get to all the out islands in a convenient pleasurable experience. An operation that allows anyone traveling by at least air to bypass anything that looks like a C&I stop and frisk. A true Welcome to the BVI and your holiday. What is the future for a visitor traveling to Virgin Gorda? How long should that take after a plane lands at STT?
The current BVI plan is to create something like that at Beef Island/Trellis Bay complete with a visitor "museum"?
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All I want from BVI is a Better/Faster/Friendlier way to get through BVI C&I. Last several trips by Ferry to Road Town, we were cut in line by BVI locals but worse, it took 1-1/2 hours for us to get off the dock and through customs. I promised myself last mid January I would charter a boat out of St. Thomas next time unless things change with the way the BVI handles tourist passengers from St. Thomas.
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Just do it. It's not difficult. Check in to BVi when you get there, check out when you leave. Stop in to Cruz Bay on the way back and declare you are coming home. Try it, you might like it.
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We just got home from our trip. We came in on the Native Son ferry (what a horrible boat) and did the C&I in Road Town. It was our easiest clear in ever! They had Ambassadors to help (and very kindly) with the forms and the officers inside were efficient.
Karen
If all the ferries could be like the Providence (not sure what company but it was clean, had nice seats with tables, air conditioning and a snack bar) ferry we took back to STT, it would make for a much less stressful situation. But we took the first available on the way in and it was Native Son.
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Provincetown III is leased for the season by Roadtown Fast Ferry. The crew is from the US and runs the boat year round. In the spring/summer Bay State Cruise Co owns it operates in the Boston/Provincetown market where you can't get away with running a shoddy ferry service.
THAT is the kind of boat and service that I proposed and will be needed for the BVI tourism industry to survive.
Last edited by GlennA; 11/22/2016 11:47 PM.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. - Mark Twain
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Is there a BVI company that runs passenger service between Tortola and St. Thomas or are all the ferry boats and operators really controlled by USVI entities? Does the stop on St. John require the ferries operators to be fully Jones Act compliant?
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StormJib said:
Is there a BVI company that runs passenger service between Tortola and St. Thomas or are all the ferry boats and operators really controlled by USVI entities? Does the stop on St. John require the ferries operators to be fully Jones Act compliant? I trust you're not talking about the "Davey Jones Act"?
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RickinAtlanta said:StormJib said:
Is there a BVI company that runs passenger service between Tortola and St. Thomas or are all the ferry boats and operators really controlled by USVI entities? Does the stop on St. John require the ferries operators to be fully Jones Act compliant? I trust you're not talking about the "Davey Jones Act"? I am referring to our US laws that require you to use a US Vessel and Crew to move directly between two US Ports. That is one of the many critical problems that plague the economy of Puerto Rico. The Jones Act when used in the sense of maritime law refers to federal statute 46 USC section 883.
Generally, the Jones Act prohibits any foreign built or foreign flagged vessel from engaging in coastwise trade within the United States. A number of other statutes affect coastwise trade and should be consulted along with the Jones Act. These include the Passenger Services Act, 46 USC section 289 which restricts coastwise transportation of passengers and 46 USC section 12108 restricts the use of foreign vessel to commercially catch or transport fish in U.S. waters.
The essential term that has given rise to various interpretations of what constitutes "coastwise trade". The federal courts have given a very wide interpretation of the term. Essentially the term applies to a voyage that beginning at any point within the United States and delivering a type of commercial cargo to any other point within the United States. My question is what laws apply to a commercial vessel the travels the St. Thomas, to St. John, to Tortola route?
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The USVI is exempt from the Jones act.
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Glenn
The difference between the two operators was night and day! It is truly a game changer for me if I knew that was what I could expect each time. Do any of the BVI government officers ever take a ferry??
I would rather fly into EIS but knowing there was a clean, comfortable, reliable ferry waiting makes it much more palatable.
Karen
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StormJib said:RickinAtlanta said:StormJib said:
Is there a BVI company that runs passenger service between Tortola and St. Thomas or are all the ferry boats and operators really controlled by USVI entities? Does the stop on St. John require the ferries operators to be fully Jones Act compliant? I trust you're not talking about the "Davey Jones Act"? I am referring to our US laws that require you to use a US Vessel and Crew to move directly between two US Ports. That is one of the many critical problems that plague the economy of Puerto Rico. The Jones Act when used in the sense of maritime law refers to federal statute 46 USC section 883.
Generally, the Jones Act prohibits any foreign built or foreign flagged vessel from engaging in coastwise trade within the United States. A number of other statutes affect coastwise trade and should be consulted along with the Jones Act. These include the Passenger Services Act, 46 USC section 289 which restricts coastwise transportation of passengers and 46 USC section 12108 restricts the use of foreign vessel to commercially catch or transport fish in U.S. waters.
The essential term that has given rise to various interpretations of what constitutes "coastwise trade". The federal courts have given a very wide interpretation of the term. Essentially the term applies to a voyage that beginning at any point within the United States and delivering a type of commercial cargo to any other point within the United States. My question is what laws apply to a commercial vessel the travels the St. Thomas, to St. John, to Tortola route? Oh but for a sense of humor... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
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While all the ferries in service were built in the US, I believe Smiths is a USVI firm. Native Son and Caribbean Maratime Excursions (RTFF) are BVI. The Jones Act prohibits foreign flagged vessels from carrying passengers between US ports so USVI to BVI doesn't fall under the act. WE/Cruz Bay/Redhook may be a special acomodation due to location of the C&I locations. There can be special waivers. I believe the Vancouver/Bellingham route operates under one.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. - Mark Twain
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As I posted before the Jones act does not apply to the USVI. That is one of the complaints that Puerto Rico has been making. They want the same exemption.
Merchant Marine Act of 1920 Placed VI Outside US Custom Zone: The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 also knows as the Jones Act excluded the Virgin Islands from the application of all US coastal laws. Specifically, SEC. 21. COASTWISE LAWS EXTENDED TO ISLAND TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (46 App. U.S.C. 877) states the following:
“And provided further, That the coastwise laws of the United States shall not extend to the Virgin Islands.
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Rick, I got it and most appropriate given the condition of many of the ferries. Good one. Fred <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
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Fred said:Rick, I got it and most appropriate given the condition of many of the ferries. Good one. Fred <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Nothing like riding below on the Bomba Charger and seeing the fish swim by the window as we list to port! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />
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I have visited the STT airport arrival terminal many times of late picking up friends returning home.
There is a very visible BVI welcome kiosk that is usually manned and open - the staff there has been friendly, smiling and knowledgeable.
I always make it a point to stop over there and say hello and have seen how helpful they are when a traveler stops by with any question or problem.
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I was on the charger once and we listed so far over the Captain yanked the engines out of gear and we hung with a huge list for probably 20 seconds. I was convinced it was going to roll and planning my exit strategy. So was the crew as several bailed out of the wheelhouse. We continued at a much slower pace after that.
What made me laugh was the BVI government had just required that all charter boats have a individual stability certificate and I had to pay big bucks out of pocket to have it done. The cat was 25' wide and 45' long!
G
Last edited by GeorgeC1; 11/24/2016 11:50 AM.
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So what is the exact role of the BVI Government with the passenger ferries that travel between St. Thomas and the BVI Islands?
Last edited by StormJib; 11/24/2016 01:59 PM.
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That, unfortunately, is the big question. As a vital transportation link, the BVI Ports Authority and the Ministry of Communications and Works have constitutional authority to regulate the ferry service but they seem to have totally abandoned all responsibility in that area.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. - Mark Twain
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