As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to focus on the territory’s shrinking share of the region’s charter yacht business, Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen said she is readying legislation that could put the wind back in the industry's sails.
Christensen said Wednesday she will soon introduce legislation to waive the "six-pack" rule for the U.S. Virgin Islands. The bill would reverse a section of the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993 that limits to six the number of paying passengers that may be carried aboard uninspected vessels weighing less than 100 gross tons. Many boats under 100 tons today have the capacity to carry eight or 10 guests.
Along with the V.I. government's taxes on the marine industry, the six-passenger limit for charter boats has prompted most boat owners who can accommodate more passengers to relocate in the nearby British Virgin Islands.
Christensen has been working on the issue for almost three years. When she introduces the bill again, it will be sent to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, now chaired by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
Young was the longtime chairman of the House Resources Committee, which has oversight over the territories. He, along with the new chief of staff of the Transportation Committee, visited the V.I. last year and, among other issues, were briefed on the six-pack rule, Christensen said.
"(Young) and I have a very good relationship from Resources," she said. "As soon as we knew Young was gong to chair the Transportation Committee we discussed it with him. He is sympathetic. I think this is our best shot."
Because the Transportation Committee also oversees the U.S. Coast Guard, Christensen said her office is setting up a meeting with the agency to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, the V.I. Senate’s Finance Committee, chaired by Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, will hear testimony from individuals on the state of the territory’s marine industry on Thursday in the legislative chambers on St. Thomas and on Jan. 30 in the chambers on St. Croix.
The industry has shrunk from a $100 million-a-year enterprise in the 1980s to about $30 million by 1993, according to a 1994 position paper by the Virgin Islands Marine Industries Association.
Christensen has also said that international standards call for the inspection of only those vessels that carry more than 12 passengers. As a result, she said, foreign-registered vessels carrying between seven and 12 passengers cannot legally enter the USVI because the boats haven't been inspected by any jurisdiction.
Nor can the BVI-based charter boats pick up or drop off passengers in the territory, she said. Because the boats are provisioned between charters, the territory is also missing out on that lucrative source of revenue.
