Dec. 11, 2008 — The perennially strapped V.I. Port Authority is owed millions in fees from a ships agent who collected them from cruise ships but has not turned them over to VIPA, the Source has learned.
"There is considerable money owed by some cruise lines whose agent is Deliver It," Port Authority board member Gordon A. Finch said.
Deliver It, owned by Steve Vasaturo, acts as ships agent for Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America and Carnival Cruise Lines.
A ships agent provides services for cruise lines when they come into port, including finding a place for the ship to dock and securing it, taking care of certain federal requirements, including immigration and customs documents, and finding spots for the trailers that supply the ship.
They also are charged, in many cases, with collecting fees and port dues. The agents are paid by the cruise lines for these services.
"In essence they 'husband' the ship, by providing whatever the ship needs," according to Edward Thomas Sr., president of West Indian Co. Ltd.
WICO also collects wharfage and dockage fees from the ships, along with port dues, which are passed on to the V.I. Port Authority. Currently, WICO serves as the agent for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Disney Cruises and Costa Cruise Lines, Thomas said.
For years, VIPA has reported operating in the red and has been trying to stop the bleeding by luring new business to their docks at the western end of St. Thomas's harbor.
Starting in October 2006, three cruise lines switched from using WICO as their agent to Deliver It, Thomas said. Princess Cruise lines made the switch in 2006, followed by Holland America in 2007 and Carnival in 2008. The ships' move to Deliver It has cost WICO about $800,000 over the past two years, he added.
Carnival continues to berth their vessels at the West Indian Company’s dock. And on days when Princess is scheduled to have two large ships in port at Crown Bay, one gets sent to WICO.
The north side of the Crown Bay dock is not yet deep enough to berth the large ships. For example, this week, the Emerald Princess docked at WICO, while the Caribbean Princess pulled into Crown Bay, Thomas said.
But even though the ships are docked at the WICO dock, the port dues are still collected by the ships agent. WICO would collect the wharfage and dockage fees due to the agency, Thomas said.
When asked why the cruise lines made the move, Thomas said, "I assume there was a better financial offer from the other agency. WICO offers excellent service, but we do charge a high fee and in these hard times, people are worrying about their bottom line."
Vasaturo, who also owns Pirate Harbor Cruises, Inc. — an attraction and transportation service that operates in Charlotte Amalie Harbor — said Thursday afternoon those same hard times have affected his bottom line.
While he declined to comment on money owed to the Port Authority, Vasaturo said, "Like everybody, we are feeling the affects of the downturn in the economy. We are struggling to make ends meet, but we are continuing to get the job done with the cruise lines and are continuing to work with the Port Authority."
However, an informed source who declined to be named said the cruise lines have ceased paying their VIPA fees to Deliver It.
Deliver It normally employs 16 to 18 people, Vasaturo said. He recently had to lay off four of them. Vasaturo said that he had never laid off anyone before.
"It was the saddest day of my life," he said. "We are all feeling the pinch of recession."
V.I. Attorney General Vincent Frazer, who also sits on the Port Authority board, said he was aware that Deliver It owed money to the authority. He said the Port Authority staff had been tasked with reporting in detail how much money is owed and what action VIPA is taking to collect it.
Editor’s note: Ananta Pancham contributed to this story.
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