Passenger Screening Will Assist in Maintaining a Safe Fourth of July Festival for All

On Thursday, Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. said that together with the federal government, Virgin Islands law enforcement agencies will stage random passenger screening operations for persons travelling by barge or passenger ferry to participate in the annual Fourth of July festivities on St. John. 

“As the events surrounding the Fourth of July celebration begin to take shape, I remind everyone that the passenger screening initiative is for everyone’s safety. We implemented the screening on random dates last year and we had an incident-free festival on St. John. My administration has reached out to our federal partners who are more than pleased to assist in this initiative to keep our islands, and in this case, the St. John festival both safe and incident- free,” de Jongh said Thursday. Last year, a total of 5,024 passengers were screened at checkpoints on St. Thomas.

The screenings will be on random days and will occur either at Red Hook or at the St. John Cruz Bay docks or at both facilities. Passengers are encouraged to have a form of identification on their person and to comply with the directions of the security officers to avoid any delays in the screening and boarding process.   

Agencies participating in the screening will include: V.I. Police, law enforcement teams from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the Port Authority, VITEMA as well as agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and Transportation Security Administration and Federal Air Marshal Service.