Since 1 June 2025 a charter yacht based outside the British Virgin Islands pays up to $24,000 a year for the right to carry charter guests in BVI waters. The fee was $800 before. Sixteen months on, the two Virgin Islands governments are still arguing about it, the US Virgin Islands took the dispute to Washington on 17 September 2026, and the BVI Premier said on 12 October that the fees stand. Here is what that means if you are planning a 2027 week.
Broker insight
The fleet based in the BVI already holds a BVI licence, so for most of our clients this fee changes nothing. It only matters if you want to fly into St Thomas and start on the US side. Tell us which airport suits you and we will confirm the licence covers your week before you sign anything.
Daniel Asmus
Owner, Charter Broker, Active CYBA Member, IYBA, ECPY
What this means for your charter
If your yacht is based in the BVI, nothing changes. She holds a BVI licence, the fee does not apply to her, and your week runs as it always has.
If you want the US side too, St John, St Thomas and the USVI anchorages, pick a yacht whose licence covers both and let us check it before you sign. A BVI-based yacht can usually add USVI stops; a USVI-based yacht has to pay the BVI fee or stay out of BVI waters, and many of them now stay out.
If you had your eye on a USVI-based boat, expect thinner choice. Within weeks of the fee, operators moved boats east to avoid being “foreign”: one company moved its whole 21-boat fleet to Virgin Gorda, and St Thomas marinas lost most of their charter fleet. The boats did not disappear; they changed address, and most of them are now bookable as BVI yachts.
What are the fees?
The BVI amended its Commercial Recreational Vessels Licensing Act in 2025. The BVI Government notice and the USVI Government statement of 15 April 2025 set out the structure that took effect on 1 June 2025:
| Licence for a yacht based outside the BVI | Fee per year |
|---|---|
| Term charters, up to 7 entries into BVI waters | $7,500, then $2,100 per extra entry |
| Term charters, unlimited entries | $24,000 |
| Day charters | $8,500 |
| Water taxis | $2,500 |
| For comparison: a BVI-based yacht | $800 to $4,000, by size |
A “foreign-based” yacht is any yacht not licensed in the BVI, which in practice means the USVI fleet in St Thomas and St John. A private yacht cruising between the territories without charter guests pays none of this.
Why is it in the news again?
Because the fight moved to Washington. The US Trade Representative called the fees “trade-distorting” in December 2025, citing 5,000 USVI jobs. In April 2026 a USVI industry group proposed a reciprocal fee of about $1,900 a year. On 17 September 2026 Governor Bryan of the USVI met six federal agencies about it and asked for an emergency meeting of the two governments in Washington in the week of 12 October. Premier Wheatley of the BVI answered that the fees apply to all foreign vessels, not only USVI ones, that BVI operators pay more than before too, and that the dispute belongs in the Inter-Virgin Islands Council, not in Washington. As of 19 October 2026 nothing has been agreed and the fees are in force.
Our take
Most of our guests fly into St Thomas, take the ferry or a water taxi to Tortola, and spend the week in the BVI. For them this is a story about other people’s licences. The clients it touches are the ones who want both sides in one week, or who liked a particular USVI boat. For both, the fix is the same: tell us the boat and the route, and we check her licence against your itinerary before anything is signed. We do not expect the fees to fall before the 2027 season.
What to do next
- Decide where to start: should your BVI charter start in the USVI or the BVI?
- Want both? Read adding the USVI to a BVI yacht charter and BVI-based vs USVI-based yachts
- Arriving via St Thomas: the best water taxis from the USVI to the BVI
Last updated: 19 October 2026. We will update this when the two governments agree a change.
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