Mooring and anchoring of vessels in the Territory

1. Law
2. US Virgin Islands Code
3. Navigation
4. Mooring and Anchoring of Vessels and Houseboats
5. Mooring and anchoring of vessels in the Territory

• (a) The Commissioner shall administer and enforce all laws and regulations relating to the mooring and anchoring of vessels and houseboats within the territorial waters of the Virgin Islands. The Department shall develop and implement a mooring plan, subject to the approval of the Legislature's Committee on Planning and Natural Resources. A vessel or houseboat is permitted to moor or anchor only in those areas designated by the Department. The Department shall work with the appropriate Ad-Hoc Community Committee for each designated mooring and anchoring area.

• (b) No person shall moor a vessel in a designated mooring area unless a permit is authorized by the Department. A mooring shall not be moved or shifted without prior authorization from the Department.

• (c) Where a vessel or a houseboat is moored or anchored in violation of the provisions of this chapter or any regulations promulgated hereunder, if the owner or his agent cannot be located through diligent and reasonable efforts, the Department may remove the vessel or houseboat at the owner's risk and expense.

• The Department shall address communications to the owner of the vessel to his last known mailing address or to the address of his resident agent. Where the Department does not have information as to the identity or the whereabouts of an owner, the Department shall undertake to notify the owner by the method best calculated, under the circumstances of the particular case, to give actual notice. Reasonable efforts to locate unidentified or absent vessel owners shall include the publication in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the Virgin Islands, the posting of a notice in a conspicuous place at the location of the distressed vessel, and the posting of the notice, where practicable on board the vessel. Except in an emergency, no vessel shall be removed until such notice has been posted for not less than fourteen days. For purposes of this subsection, “emergency” means any situation that presents an imminent endangerment or risk to the public safety, health and welfare, or presents an imminent endangerment or risk to the environment or property and includes any instance where a vessel obstructs or threatens to obstruct navigation, contributes to air or water pollution or in any other way constitutes a danger or potential danger to the environment.

• (d) The Commissioner may limit the applicability of section 405 of this chapter to other governmental departments, agencies, eleemosynary institutions, and organizations engaged in research, teaching and other public services, to inter-island passenger-carrying ferries, or to vessels engaged in full-time commercial fishing. However, the Department shall administer and enforce all laws and regulations relating to the mooring and anchoring of these vessels.

• (e) In no event is a vessel or a houseboat or its tenders permitted to extend beyond the limits of the vessel's or houseboat's mooring area.

• (f) The Legislature recognizes that for reasons of conservation, recreation, ecology, navigation or aesthetics, the coastal areas require a flexible and modifiable management program responsive to changing social, economic and environmental conditions. Until such time as a water use plan is developed, the Department shall administer programs in a manner consistent with the goals and objectives of this chapter and in a manner responsive to social and environmental needs.

• (g) The following are designated as areas of special concern because of their location, the density of existing moorings, anchored vessels or the unusually fragile ecosystem:

  • (1) Magens Bay, Brewers Bay, Buck and Capella Islands, Christmas Cove, Coki Point Beach, Charlotte Amalie Harbor, the Mangrove Lagoon and Vessup Bay in St. Thomas;

  • (2) Cruz Bay and Hurricane Hole in St. John; and

  • (3) Salt River Bay, Christiansted Harbour, and Teaque Bay on St. Croix.

• (h) The Department, by regulation, shall designate areas of mooring and long-term anchoring and areas of restricted or limited use. The Department may prohibit any long-term mooring or anchoring at any coastal area within the territorial waters of the Virgin Islands for reasons of health, safety or potential threat to marine life.

• (i) The Department, in identifying and designating mooring and anchoring areas, shall consider the following factors:

  • (1) capability and suitability of the coastal area to support existing or projected use as a mooring or anchoring area;

    • (A) the size of the area;

    • (B) bottom topography and relative holding power;

    • (C) tidal and circulatory characteristics of the area;

    • (D) exposure to the weather conditions and wind fetch; and

    • (E) availability of public services.

  • (2) environmental impact on coastal resources;

  • (3) compatibility of the various uses with adjacent uses or resources;

  • (4) historical uses of the proposed mooring or anchoring site;

  • (5) social and economic impact on the proposed site and its residents.

• (j) Until such time as a water use plan is developed, the Commissioner shall designate areas of restricted mooring and anchoring adjacent to the ferry docks located in Cruz Bay, St. John and Red Hook, St. Thomas as required to provide for the safe navigation of inter-island passenger ferries and to protect the public safety.

• (k) Until such time as a water use plan is developed, the Commissioner shall designate areas of restricted mooring and anchoring adjacent to the Gallows Bay Dock, the Ann E. Abramson Pier on St. Croix and the Edward Wilmoth Blyden Marine Terminal on St. Thomas to provide for the safe navigation of inter-island passenger ferries and to protect the public safety.

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