Being tasked with operating the marquee port on your home island is naturally a great honour. It’s something Clifford Graham, a native of St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands and the recently appointed CEO and president of the West Indian Company (WICO), is delighted to take on.
The West Indian Company owns and operates Havensight Dock in the natural harbour of St Thomas and manages the adjacent Havensight Mall. Graham is very clear as to what his main goals are in his new role.
“I want to really make sure that the passenger experience here in the US Virgin Islands is as good as it can be,” he says. “But even though I work for the West Indian Company, I don’t feel like the boundaries of what I do should end at the West Indian Company. Anything we can do to enhance overall landscape of the visitor experience in the US Virgin Islands, be it shore excursions or related to transportation, is something we will support.”
As part of these efforts, a series of renovations have recently taken place at the WICO Dock. This includes a major upgrade to the pier and berthing facilities, while renovation work has also been carried out at the Havensight Mall.
“We’re trying to give passengers a great experience as soon as they come off the ship and provide more lively activities on our property,” Graham explains. “We’re looking at enhancing the amenities that passengers want.”
Did you know that US citizens visiting the area get a US$1,600 tax-free exemption? This is double the allowance than for other Caribbean destinations. They can also purchase five cartons of duty free cigarettes and five litres of rum upon arrival!
To ensure that as many visitors as possible can take advantage of such offerings, it is important that WICO expand its capacity. Much of the recent work has therefore focused on hosting the biggest ships in the market at St Thomas.
“We recently finished doing a major enhancement to our berthing,” Graham says. “We strengthened the bulkhead and put in new bollards, so we can now take the largest ships that are being manufactured. Our infrastructure is now up to date to take advantage of that.”
With ships only likely to get bigger, Graham says that the West Indian Company is working with the government of the US Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands Port Authority to carry out other building work, and dredge the harbour basin.
“This is to ensure that the biggest ships that are currently being manufactured can safely manoeuvre our harbour and berth at our pier,” he says. “We are also preparing to revisit the idea of additional berthing in some fashion, and we can always do infrastructure work to bring in more cruise ships and remain competitive with other Caribbean destinations.”
The recent renovations have extended onto the land-based offerings at St Thomas, with millions of dollars being spent on enhancements around the port area including repainting, wider sidewalks, and work to update the mall and make it more pedestrian friendly.
“That was the first phase and we want to move onto the second phase and really enhance other areas of the property,” says Graham. “In the not too distant future, we’re looking to change some of the warehouse spaces that are close to our dock, and potentially bring more restaurant and retail environments so that as passengers get off the ships, they have all these amenities right in front of them.”
There is around seven acres of vacant land on the port property, which Graham and his team are currently assessing for redevelopment.
“We are looking to use this space not only to enhance the experience of passengers, but to get the most out of it for overnight guests and residents when ships leave our port,” he says.
Plans are also in place for the introduction of harbour transportation later this year, which will help to facilitate passenger movement between the Havensight area and various destinations and beaches in St Thomas.
“These are some of the plans on the drawing board, and we are committed to seeing what we can do to bring more people here and deliver a better experience for them,” Graham says.
Though Graham believes the West Indian Company is moving in a positive direction, he insists that it cannot afford to rest on its laurels.
“In this industry, you must continue to do what is necessary to remain very competitive,” he concludes.