More than a hundred charter yachts were detained by customs authorities in the port of The Moorings on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) on 16 March, according to the online news portal "BVI News".
The yachts are said not to meet the new safety and documentation requirements of the Caribbean archipelago. Most of the boats belong to the charter company The Moorings, which also charters to German customers.
The Moorings announces on its Facebook page that the customs measures are causing delays and cancellations for some charter guests. "The Moorings and Sunsail have been working closely with the BVI government over the past few weeks to comply with the new changes to these industry-wide safety and documentation requirements and expect to be fully compliant in the coming weeks," the company added. However, a number of yachts were still missing the updated documentation.
At the end of October 2021 - just a few days before the start of the charter season - new regulations on safety and documentation requirements were introduced in the Virgin Islands. Among other things, they stipulate that charter yachts must have a commercial licence, safety certificates and insurance.
"Our regulations were changed in October, and we held many symposiums on what was required. Moorings attended these symposiums and they knew what needed to be done to comply with our regulations. However, these were not adhered to," BVI News quotes senior customs officer Sassoon Fahie as saying.
"We are actively reaching out to all customers whose upcoming charters may be affected," The Moorings announced. They are also endeavouring to accommodate all guests appropriately. However, they are not currently accepting bookings for charters due to start before 15 April.
The Moorings fleet is not the only focus of the customs action: 60 yachts are also said to have been detained on the neighbouring island of Scrub Island, according to BVI News.
"Fortunately, we are not affected, but we are in contact with the BVI Tourist Board," reports Hartmut Holtmann, founder and managing director of the German charter company KH+P Yachtcharter, when asked by YACHT online. The company currently has no customers who are affected by the situation. However, Holtmann is already looking ahead to the autumn with slight concern, when KH+P is planning a Caribbean tour as a provider of charter events. He is surprised by the authorities' move in a destination that, like the BVIs, depends so heavily on tourism. Many uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic have only just been overcome - and now this.
***Update*** 22.03.
The Moorings announced today that all the necessary new safety items, from fire buckets to additional buoyancy aids, have already been procured. Only the new certification of some yachts in their charter fleet is still pending. However, they are working at full speed with the government of the islands to get this over the line quickly.
"To this day, The Moorings' fleet meets and exceeds US Coast Guard safety regulations, and we have consistently adhered to the selected flag regulations in our worldwide charter destinations for decades without issue," the company continues. Current information is available on its Website ready.
By the way: even if you charter on another Caribbean island and want to travel to the Virgin Islands from there, you should enquire with your charter company about the required certificates.
