VIPA Moves Forward with Charlotte Amalie Dredging After Public Meeting, Project to Launch in 2025

During a public hearing, VIPA CEO Carlton Dowe emphasized the necessity of the dredging project to maintain cruise traffic and ensure long-term growth, with new fees in St. Thomas/St. John beginning in 2025 to fund the two-year initiative

A request for proposals for the Charlotte Amalie harbor dredging project should be issued by the end of the month, with a bid awarded in January. That’s according to V.I. Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Carlton Dowe, who was speaking on Tuesday evening at a public hearing to discuss the additional fees and tariffs that will partially fund the project.

Once the bid had been awarded, the project is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025, and will likely take about two years to complete. “We have to also remind folks that there are all kinds of mitigating factors, world events, different things that can occur that could impact the scheduling as we go,” advised Mr. Dowe. However, day-to-day harbor operations would be worked around so as not to introduce inordinate delays.

As previously reported, port dues will increase by $3, from $6.84 to $9.84, while wharfage fees will rise by $0.44 from the current $7.80 to $8.24. The increase in wharfage fees will impact ships berthing at the WICO dock in Havensight from January 1, 2025, while VIPA itself will begin charging the new wharfage and port fees from April, but only in St. Thomas/St. John.