TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands The Moorings Boats Seized

I hear something is going on with Moorings charter boats been seized by BVI customs and everyone who hasn't left base being stuck there until further notice.

Failure to obtain proper permits licenses etc....

Anyone hearing the same/different?

That is unfortunate, if true, for those heading out.

Also all sunsail boats have been seized by customs. No boats are leaving the base. Many unhappy customers!!

This is very bad for public relations with tourists and especially those that booked boats that cannot be used.

Saw that on BVI Abroad FB page. Crazy how The Moorings let it get to that point.

Yes, Moorings but also curious how BVI customs can do this. Unless The Moorings has been warned for a while and this was a last resort. Does seem very helpful to a region still reeling from hurricanes and covid.

It’s the same issue DYC had two days ago. They are going around to all the charter companies and inspecting. I am not sure the specific issue. It is not for non payment of customs money. It’s safety gear. Might and I say that because it’s a rumor at this point deal with propane systems.

Apparently safety and documentation issues...Moorings wont take new charters between now and April 15

Much of it is safety related. Requirements shared in October. TMM was on it asap - we ended up with some outlays but everything was completed well in advance of deadlines.

MIDiver - Your boat? Can you share about what sort of things needed to be addressed?

I called Sunsail and they assured me none of their boats have been seized however a few have been "tagged" and all the documentation has been submitted to the BVI Govt.

Sounds like lax paperwork combined with typical BVI government jackboots.

I get my Cat May 9 so hopefully all will be well by then.

Husker - There were new safety requirements. We had a brand new boat but TMM added the new items - would need to get out the list - was charged to our account months ago. TMM’s entire fleet is in compliance.

This is very concerning. I have chartered a Cat for 8 of us which starts on April 2nd through Sunsail. Does anyone know if this type of situation is resolved quickly?

Mhdonohue, I’m guessing that not much gets resolved quickly in the BVI. Some of the locals here may have a view.

The SS agent I spoke with made it sound like they are just waiting on the Govt to approve the paperwork. I would hope this process is done in the 3 weeks before your charter begins.

I'm on a new 454P with the flying bridge and water maker. Pretty excited about being able to take Hollywood Showers and not worry about getting water 1/2 through the charter like usual.

The parts the Moorings needs are awaiting clearance from BVI customs. They are putting out the majority of boats were in compliance. I don’t know what a majority means from a percentage basis.

I'm hearing the same as George. Should be resolved in the next couple days. There are charter guests currently stuck at base so hopefully the "island time" factor can be bypassed under the circumstances. Also heard that while crew on yellow tagged crewed boats were being forced to find other quarters, there was an agreement reached to allow them to stay aboard. Don't know the details of that yet.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I did talk to Sunsail today who said only a few boats on their fleet were subjected to this seize. I feel bad for the charterers where caught in the middle of this. I bet a few pain killers will be thrown back tonight.

This is exactly why longtime sailors avoid the BVI's now! Sad.

The government does seem to have run amok and a better solution might have been a fine for non compliant boats but let them go out. Ruining someone’s vacation is not smart on a island where tourism is a major part of the economy. On the flip side I understand the requirements were made known last October. It’s possible they were unable to comply with a 400 boat fleet but there certainly was advance notice.
This whole thing reminds me of the ridiculous fishing rules they now have for charterboats. It should be quite simple. A extra block on the cruising permit. Fishing, yes or no. If yes you pay an additional 75.00. The government would rake in the money.

I recently had to renew the TIP for my boat. It use to be the the marina could do it for you and it was a easy simple process. Now they insist that the owner does it not a representative.. After over a month of the rules changing such as different documents needed than what are currently listed then requiring some of them to be notarized. All must be attached to the renewal request in a single PDF file. After 10 documents I finally got the renewal. I have owned a boat there for over 20 years and never was it such a difficult process.

News article. Take it for what it's worth... The comments are the real reason to read any BVI news article.

Utterly disgusted..just the best way to show "BVI Love" after Irma and Covid...

It sure isn't a way to help get toursim back on its feet. Kudos to Conch, BYIYC, TMM, Voyage and others for complying on time. Fining The Moorings, Sunsail & Dream would have driven home the point and penalized the culprits without screwing up 100's of people's vacations and creating the risk of some seriously bad word of mouth.

Too late for the bad word of mouth....cue " Send in the clowns"...

Recent post by a BVI news channel: https://www.facebook.com/jtv55/videos/1123922171766200

184 boats unable to be hired. 46 DYC, balance Moorings.

Funny part is that the propane detectors are on island awaiting release from BVI customs.

Watching the press conference https://www.facebook.com/BVIGovernment/videos/336867768257013 I think I'm starting to get a picture of how this happened. This is IMO of course.

* A number of BVI paperwork and safety requirements have gone unenforced for years.
* A UK shipping audit highlighted enforcement gaps.
* VISR committed to closing these gaps by now demanding compliance.
* Customs/VISR set a deadline for completion.
* Some charter operators took the tack of "we're doing this as quickly as possible, supply chain, labor, etc." and gambled that authorities were bluffing.

George, I'm gathering pretty much the same thing. I would add cost-cutting which reduced the staff available for compliance, and then Covid staff shortages. Basically they gambled and lost.

Moorings has posted an update on their website: https://hub.moorings.com/operations-update

"Mutual respect".."longstanding trust and partnership"...not quite what I am hearing down here!!!

I noted from the 90 minute press conference a few days ago that it appeared that the top Moorings guy didn’t previously know the government leadership in charge of customs and registry. It seems they just met as they are trying to work through the issue. Seems like they should have known each other…

The mean spiritedness of the BVI government to people trying to charter in the BVI is beyond belief. Why visit the BVI if your holiday can be completely ruined by capricious bureaucrats?

One wonders whether BVI officials read this board or any others?

I suspect (speculation!) part of the issue is that some of the shipping regulations aren't really readily applicable to pleasure boats in the charter fleet. Classifying them as "commercial vessels" brings a lot of largely irrelevant and onerous paperwork and regulations that has been tacitly ignored by both sides until the UK audit.

As far as Moorings being slow in "complying", it is also very possible that the rate at which they can get these boats' licenses sorted out involves submitting paperwork applications to BVI agencies which may not turn them around in the expeditious manner that the situation requires.

With so little known, I for one am not rushing to judgment on any side.

I just received a call from Moorings. 5000 not available and asking to swap to a 4500. Said they were only getting 5 boats licensed per day. Said they would offer a refund of $3,750. Boat we had reserved was 0-1 year old. Does this seem like a reasonable offer?

Only if 4500 is same age.

4500 is a nice model. I think the bareboat versions of both are 4-cabin. How many people will be going? Seems like a fair trade off if you don't need the extra common space.

We have 7 people total. Four teens and two parents + we hired a skipper.

So you guys in 3 cabins and the skipper in the 4th? Could be a little snug, but workable if the teens are cool sharing cabins. Did you look into a crewed 5000? That would give you 4 cabins and more space in general....plus a captain AND cook (in the 5th). More expensive, yes, but maybe you could negotiate a good deal under the circumstances.

According to Moorings website, the skipper will sleep in the forepeak so that should leave 4 cabins for the family. When we originally booked, the crewed 5000 wasn't available. Good point that it could be available now with all of the disruptions.