February 5th, 2014 -- In light of a recent article published on the online news site (Virgin Islands News Online) titled: “Has NDP deceived its people with NCL & DCL agreement? - Why the big secrecy?? Agreement documents not at Registry as policy”, the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) wishes to clarify a few matters in the public’s interest. Kindly take notice that publications of this nature directly compromise the BVIPA, as a party to the Berthing Agreements signed on January 17, 2014 between the BVIPA, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and Disney Cruise Line (DCL).
Please note that notwithstanding any other publicly made statements to the contrary, the Registration and Records Act, Cap. 67 of the Revised Laws of the Virgin Islands, 1991, does not require that an Agreement of this nature is lodged at the Registry of Records. Additionally, it should be noted that there is no policy which applies to the BVIPA that an Agreement of this nature should be lodged at any Registry for public record.
Accordingly it is proper for the BVIPA to insist that given its contractual obligations under the Berthing Agreements, which includes specific confidentiality provisions, it will not lodge these Agreements at a public registry for viewing by the public. It should be noted that confidentiality provisions are standard in the cruise ship industry for agreements of this kind, as it protects the cruise lines' commercial interests against other lines.
Given that this is a proper decision of the BVIPA, it is expected that this will be honoured by all media houses when issuing publications relative to the Berthing Agreements. Kindly take notice that irresponsible publishing of the Berthing Agreements, such as what occurred, can very seriously compromise the relationship between the BVIPA, DCL and NCL. These entities have trusted the BVIPA to uphold its obligations under the Agreements, and we therefore ask that great prudence and sensitivity is exercised, for the reputation of the BVIPA, and the Territory as a whole, when issuing publications. February 4, 2014
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British Virgin Islands News