Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 27, 2025

Govt gets maritime equipment to conduct marine surveys

Govt gets maritime equipment to conduct marine surveys

Six departments across government will now have access to maritime equipment which will be used to conduct marine surveys as the territory moves towards developing a blue (ocean resources) economy.

The equipment is part of an overall capacity building initiative which is a joint partnership between the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA), the United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Natural Resource and Labour.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the RDA’s head office on Friday, February 7, Minister of Natural Resources & Labour, Vincent Wheatley, referred to the occasion as a ‘red-letter’ day for the BVI environment.

“This is one of the first times we have ever seen it to this scale where a company came in, they not only came in did the study and left, but they made sure they trained locals here across six departments, that these guys can now have the equipment to even go beyond what the training has taught them, to create something very different to the way it started,” Minister Wheatley stated.

“We have now moved beyond the rhetoric and we are going into action. I think this project epitomises what partnerships are really all about,” he added.

Equipment aligns with government’s vision

Minister Wheatley further stressed on the significance of the territory now possessing this equipment, as it aligns with his government’s goal to have the BVI the centre of marine studies in the Caribbean region.

He said: “What this equipment lets us do is really track environmental changes over time, so we can see the impacts of our daily activities on the environment. It lets us know what is there so we can quantify it, so we can know what is there, so we can analyse it.”

“So, anybody that wants to do any impact studies of their development, this equipment here, lets us do that. What we are hoping to achieve in the long run, is to make the BVI a centre of excellence in marine survey studies,” Minister Wheatley further explained.


Project a gem turned into a national strategy

Meanwhile, Governor Augustus Jaspert said the project was about supporting the bigger ambition of thinking through how the BVI develops as a territory.

“I am delighted that what started as a project to map our marine environment has turned into a project to do that, but also then turned into a project to build our capability, to build our equipment, to build our sustainability in this area as well,” Governor Jaspert stated.

He added: “It is wonderful when a little gem of a project actually turns into a national strategy … Always, the Recovery and Development Agency works best when it is able to work very effectively with the ministries, and this is what we have seen in this example.”


Project heavily funded by FCO

In the meantime, RDA’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Bayly said he was thrilled to have collaborated with the agencies involved, and thanked the FCO for contributing more than half the value of the project total.

He said: “The total budget for this project is just a little bit over $230,000, the FCO funding is just over $146,000, so a very substantial contribution.”


Equipment usage explained

Also playing a major role in the project is Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour Joseph Smith-Abbot.

He said the handing over of the equipment to trained staff is phase two of a three-phase project and explained in-depth how the equipment will be put to work.

“The thematic areas that are covered under that include but are not limited to the actual determination of the bathymetry, in other words, the depth in contouring of our seafloor, the determination of water chemistry and how do you then go about characterising underwater habitats to then provide the basic layer of information,” Smith-Abbot stated.

“That will enable us to better understand the marine resource base, to understand change over time and to then harness that capacity to develop new industries and augment industries already established,” he added.


Government ministries trained

The six ministries which were trained by UK’s National Oceanography Centre during phase one of the project include the Ministry of Natural Resources & Labour’s Environment Unit, the Agriculture & Fisheries Department, the National Parks Trust, the Town & Country Planning Department, Survey Department and the Virgin Islands Shipping Registry.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×