CRUZ BAY — Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument announces that repairs to park moorings will begin Monday. The repair work is expected to last about three weeks with minimal disruption to the visiting public.
The National Park Service (NPS) collects fees for overnight use of park mooring buoys. These recreational fee funds are being used to pay a contractor to repair mooring buoy systems throughout the park.
NPS scuba divers based at Virgin Islands National Park routinely inspect and service mooring and other buoys in the park. However, a competitive contract was awarded this year to replace about 80 moorings systems, excluding the embedded anchor system. In addition, each of the 14 large-boat moorings will also be replaced. Large-boat moorings accommodate vessels up to 100 feet in length, while the other size is for vessels up to 60 feet in length.
Vessel moorings provide an easy way for mariners to visit areas near and often within coral reef or sea grass meadows and enjoy these resources, without dropping an anchor. Even when an anchor is placed in sand it can get dragged into nearby coral reef or seagrass beds and cause damage.
The National Park Service wishes to thank the marine community for visiting the park and supporting the vessel mooring program.