The Anguilla House of Assembly has approved legislative amendments to allow the government to collect fees on berth slip registrations at the new Port Nimara marina.
The move came following an administrative omission that left the original Port Nimara Marina (Anguilla) (Berth Slips) Act, 2026 without a legally prescribed fee structure.
The amendments also empower the registrar to prescribe the fees through regulations and make changes to the schedules setting out the individual berth parcels.
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The bill was brought before the assembly at an emergency sitting on 4 November, with members agreeing to suspend the usual procedures to consider all three readings on the same day.
Planning minister Kyle Hodge, who moved the bill, said: “We are not here to levy a tax on the people of Anguilla. We are here to facilitate revenues for the people of Anguilla in a very timely manner.”
He said the government had previously collected alien landholding licence fees on hotel and villa sales, but had not yet generated revenue from berth slip transactions.
The minister thanked the developers for understanding that “sometimes delays happen, sometimes we have oversight”, adding: “I know that today they are happy, and they recognise the effort being put in.”
Hodge added that the Executive Council was expected to consider and approve the regulations setting out the new fee structure the following day.
During the debate, premier Cora Richardson Hodge told members that the “four paragraph” amendments address a deficiency in the original legislation.
She said the developers expected berth slip registrations to begin in October, with a prospective purchaser’s alien landholding licence application also awaiting submission to Executive Council.
“These are active transactions requiring immediate attention,” she said, adding: “The delay is through no fault of the developer. It arises from an administrative omission on the government side.”
She continued: “We have a responsibility to acknowledge the oversight and to take the necessary corrective action. ”
Richardson Hodge, who also serves as finance minister, said the Port Nimara team has generated significant purchasing interest, and some berth sales have been “in the pipeline” for several months.
“Further delays could jeopardise those sales, and according to the developers, affect the release of a further tranche of funding for the second phase of development,” she said.
The amendments also update the parcel descriptions in the act’s second schedule to reflect changes after the marina basin was consolidated into a single parcel of land.
Opposition members declined to attend the emergency sitting of the assembly. The bill was passed without amendment.
Anguilla’s first superyacht marina is currently under construction between Cap Juluca, A Belmond Hotel on Maundays Bay, and Altamer on Shoal Bay West.
It will include 118 berths, ranging from 40 to 240 feet, as well as a hotel, villas, retail areas, restaurants, and a yacht club.
