Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

‘We have to be ready – open our Seaports’ say opposition leader

‘We have to be ready – open our Seaports’ say opposition leader

Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, Honourable Marlon Penn said “We have to be ready to open our seaports. We have to learn to live, work and manage COVID.”
Speaking of the April 15th scheduled reopening of our seaports Honourable Marlon Penn said, “We cannot afford another false start.” He expressed that the previous two postponements; i.e. the constant false starts stem from this Administration’s lack of a thorough plan to effectively manage the reopening of our seaports and reflects poorly on BVI and damages our global image.

He mentioned that there are many persons across the Territory who have been unemployed or under-employed for over a year now due to the pandemic and these persons cannot afford to continue undergoing such undue hardship, therefore we must open our seaports and get our economy moving.

In addressing the plan to have ferries operating from the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park, Honourable Penn said persons living on the Sister Islands may not benefit from this change. Often shipping bulky items to the Sister Islands via ferry, this may prove to be a logistical nightmare for those persons; adding to the difficulty already experienced in finding parking and a designated on/off loading location at the Pier Park.

Adding to a potential logistical issue, Penn further expressed his fears that the lack of an operational jetty at West End along with ferrying persons into Road Town can have an adverse effect on the Jost Van Dyke economy. Businesses on the Sister Island are virtually on life support and the livelihood of the business owners and their employees would be at stake.

Penn stated that precluding the option of taking a ferry to and from West End might deter visitors from traveling to the Sister Island of Jost Van Dyke where many of the businesses depend so heavily on Tourism, noting that the current Administration had two years to ensure a fully functioning West End jetty be made a priority.

The Opposition Leader encouraged the Premier to ensure the necessary resources, equipment and systems are put in place to facilitate the reopening of our seaports and to open our Territory on a larger scale to visitors. Honourable Penn stated his expectation for Government to be more effective in its policy decisions as it relates to the reopening of our Territory.

Honourable Penn iterated that he and his colleagues in the Opposition continue to express that this administration has proven there is no plan in place for the economic recovery of these Virgin Islands.

The Opposition Leader further stated that the Opposition members continue to offer suggestions, both privately and publicly, to the current administration in an effort to help navigate the Territory through the COVID-19 crisis on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands.

In conclusion, Honourable Penn said that he continues to urge the Government to present a plan focused on the economic recovery and growth of this Territory.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×