On November 21, 2023, the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority (BVIPA), in collaboration with the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board (BVITB) and local ship agent Island Shipping Trading Co. Ltd., commemorated the inaugural arrival of the Explora 1 with a special plaque exchange ceremony. This noteworthy event took place while the ship was anchored near Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, with Captain Diego Michelozzi. The ceremony not only symbolized the seamless integration of luxury and responsibi...

Director of Culture, Dr. Katherine Smith has lauded the “Remember My Name” performing arts production that honoured ten Virgin Islands heroes as a major success.Dr. Smith said the performance made an earnest call for Virgin Islanders to reflect on the significant contributions made by the ten recently designated heroes and their altruistic efforts towards advancing the socio-economic and political interests of the Territory.Dr. Smith said, “One of the oldest and most enduring ways we can tell...

Kadeem Maynard was sentenced in a Miami federal court late Monday evening 20 November to just under five years in prison for his role in a scheme to traffic cocaine through the British Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland. The Judge ordered a sentence of 57 months to be served. Maynard, 32, of Tortola along with his mother Oleanvine Pickering Maynard had changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty earlier this year. Kadeem Maynard pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import cocaine unde...

Mr. Jay Kendall has been appointed Superintendent of Prisons, effective 30th October, 2023.Mr. Kendall brings over seventeen (17) decorated years of experience in the criminal justice system to this role. Most recently, he has served as the Superintendent of Prisons on Saint Helena Island where he designed and implemented the prison’s five (5) year development plan, as well as worked to progress the new prison build project on the island.As the new Superintendent of Prisons, Mr. Kendall will be...

Acting Premier Kye Rymer and Junior Minister for Culture and Tourism Honourable Luce Hodge-Smith and other officials welcomed the crew of Tradewind Aviation as they made their inaugural commercial flight to Virgin Gorda yesterday.Honourable Rymer and Honourable Hodge-Smith welcomed the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Eric Zipkin and Caribbean General Manager Mr. Jose “Tony” Vallecillo at a ceremony attended by officials from the public and private sector.Honourable Rymer in remarks ...

The Premier, his Deputy and the Governor were in London this week to attend the Joint Ministerial Council with members of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.That meeting is important and it holds a prominent place on the Territory’s UK/BVI collaborative agenda.  There is usually a lot to discuss and potentially much to gain.The BVI contingent was large and the price tag for that gathering must have been staggering.  However, if they were representing the interests of the people,...

The BVI Airports Authority has been elected to serve as an Advisor on the Governing Board of Airports Council International - Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC).The ACI serves 712 members as of January 2023 and operates in 1925 airports in 171 countries. The council is organised, structured, and governed in a federal manner and includes ACI World and five ACI Regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific and Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America.The BVI Airports Authorit...

The compensation review and job classification exercise that began in November 2022 is complete and was presented to cabinet on Wednesday November 8.  The review was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers Trinidad and Tobago (PwC) and was dealt with in six phases including Project Planning, a Current State Assessment, a Compensation Philosophy and Revised Class System, the Compensation Review, a Job Evaluation Methodology and the Project Close Out.Deputy Governor, Mr. David D. Archer Jr. expressed ...

Minister for Education, Youth Affairs and Sports, Honourable Sharie B. de Castro is away from the Territory on Travel Duty attending official meetings from November 9 to 20. The Minister attended the 3rd Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Ministerial Summit in Barbados from November 9 to 11 where she served as a panelist. This year’s summit focused on the theme: ‘Reimagining Educational Reform –Towards Transformative Agility’. Honourable de Castro is also attending the 42nd United Nations ...

The Ministry of Education has announced that the students of the Jost Van Dyke Primary School have been temporarily relocated until their new school building is complete.Ministry officials met with the principal, staff and parents of the Jost Van Dyke Primary School on Thursday November 2 to discuss suggestions for the relocation following which a consensus was reached by all parties that the students will be relocated to the Leonora Delville Primary School.Acting Chief Education Officer, Mrs. O...

‘It is not too late to bail the bilge of the ship of state.  For while the ship is at water level, she is still, miraculously, afloat although barely seaworthy.’ “Who will weep for our young men whose lives are being snuffed out in what, for BVI, is record numbers?  Have we acquired a certain level of immunity to crime because of its frequency and the expectation that these things will be?Or is it because the Territory has become so impersonal that we no longer know each other and we no longe...

The Honourable Kye Rymer, Minister for Communications and Works has been appointed Acting Premier while Premier Natalio Wheatley and Deputy Premier Lorna Smith  are out of the Territory on official travel to the UK. His appointment begins today, Friday November 10, 2023. 

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Financial Services, Labour & Trade the Honourable Lorna Smith has formed an Adhoc Committee of some 14 persons across industries to review the minimum wage in the Territory. “As I have been pondering the best way forward, I have determined that the most effective approach is to establish an advisory committee to undertake a review of what the most appropriate level of the minimum wage should be.” Honourable Smith said. The minimum wage which stands at $6.00 ...

UK Minister Mike Freer MP, from the Ministry of Justice, visited the BVI between Sunday 5 to Tuesday 7 November. The purpose of the visit was for the Minister to see first-hand the opportunities and challenges in the BVI justice system, and to identify areas for further partnership with the UK.On Monday, Minister Freer met the Premier, Dr. the Hon Natalio Wheatley, and discussed overcrowding in the prison and the rehabilitation of offenders. He then visited HMP Balsam Ghut with the Minister for ...

Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Kye Rymer said that the rehabilitation of the water infrastructure in the Territory will be costly but that a comprehensive review of water distribution in the Territory is underway.In his statement at the Fifth Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly, Minister Rymer said his ministry is addressing concerns from the public related to the water woes residents are facing and explained the contractual components of the agreement u...

Police have confirmed this morning’s shooting victim as Julio Rivera, a 25-year-old resident of Purcell Estate.He was found with multiple gunshot wounds about his body in the main parking lot on Wickham’s Cay I, and subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.Officers of the Major Crime Team have since launched investigations into the matter.Persons with information in relation to this incident can confidentially contact the Crime Stoppers line 800-8477 (TIPS) or overseas call 1-284-800-8477 wit...

The Government of the Virgin Islands has issued a tender notice for Asphalt Paving and Road Markings throughout the Territory to address over thirty-eight miles of primary roads. Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Kye Rymer in his statement at the Fifth Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly, said he is grateful to the Minister of Finance for his support and commitment to secure loan funding to allow the Ministry of Communications and Works to comprehensively a...

Sixteen Junior Customs Officers have completed a one month training course facilitated through the Caribbean Customs Law. The Junior Officers Basic (JOB) training saw the junior officers receiving training in several areas including communication, ethics and integrity, cargo reporting and processes, tariff preferences, and clarification and accounting.Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor Mrs. Sharlene DaBreo Lettsome said, “It is extremely important that our Customs Officers...

The RVIPF would like to emphasize its ongoing concern regarding the increase in occurrences of both commercial and residential burglaries. In these burglary incidents, the perpetrators frequently make off with a range of electronic devices, including laptop computers, mobile phones, and gaming consoles.We urge the public to remain vigilant for individuals selling these items, especially if the prices are significantly lower than the market value. The RVIPF also urges individuals to promptly repo...

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) will arrive in BVI this weekend to begin the fieldwork phase of the comprehensive review of the Territory’s law enforcement agencies.The review will look at the structure, resources and funding, and conduct and standards among other matters, of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF), HM Customs, Immigration and the Prison Service. The Attorney General’s Chambers, Director of Public Prosecution’s Office, Fin...