Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Premier debunks claims gov’t paying barges $17K per day for border security assistance

Premier debunks claims gov’t paying barges $17K per day for border security assistance

Premier Andrew Fahie has refuted claims that his administration is spending exorbitant amounts of taxpayer dollars to barge operators to assist in border security.

Government recently procured the services of these operators who are able to use their radar equipment to assist in detecting smuggling activity as it happens.

Opposition legislator Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull said during a recent press conference that he received information which indicates that government was paying nearly $20,000 per day for each barge.

“The government will soon issue a statement on this initiative with the facts,” Premier Fahie told BVI News in an invited comment on Wednesday, September 2.

“It is a sensitive issue seeing that it involves security details. However it is safe to assure the public that the statement made in the public domain of government spending $17,000 for one barge daily is totally false and irresponsible,” he added.


Second District Representative, Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull



Real cost roughly a third of the alleged one?


Fahie’s response also follows statements from government consultant Claude Skelton Cline who weighed in on the issue via his Honestly Speaking radio programme on Tuesday.

Skelton-Cline said the information he received is contrary to what Turnbull said.

“First of all, the information that was disseminated is incorrect … That is just not true. I made an inquiry on both sides of the private and the public sector as it relates to what’s going on and what has been shared with me is that there are three barges on the water that is designed to help with the breach that now has the country upside down and each of those barges including the fuel and the crew is $4,500 per barge [daily],” the government consultant said.


Premier Andrew Fahie


He continued: “But I want to go a step further, what if it was costing $25,000 a day but it was doing the job that we need most now which has to do with securing our borders? We know for a fact that our borders has always been porous. We have known for years we need coast guards, we need to beef up our border patrols. It’s not new but the chicken has come home to roost given this COVID-19 stuff.”

Skelton Cline further said these questions surrounding the cost for barge services should be asked in the House of Assembly for the government to respond.

“They [government] have to say exactly how much things are costing. But when we come out here and we make misrepresentations, and we make comments that are not true, it further puts the country in a state of chaos. It puts us against each other for no reason,” he stated.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
"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
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
×