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WICO tells Senate it owes $11.8M in pilot liability, pledges 60-day study and partial payment plan
Summary
West Indian Company Limited (WICO) told the Senate Economic Development & Agriculture Committee it carries about $11.8 million in unpaid payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes (pilot), reported a $2.6 million net loss in FY2025 and committed to provide a study and a pilot-payment proposal within 60 days.
Joseph Bushelty, president and CEO of the West Indian Company Limited, told the Senate Economic Development and Agriculture Committee on Jan. 14 that WICO continues to play a central role in the U.S. Virgin Islands’ cruise economy but is carrying a substantial unpaid pilot liability.
Bushelty said WICO reported approximately $9.4 million in revenue in fiscal 2025, with operating expenses near $6.2 million and a net income loss of about $2.6 million. "YCO's outstanding pilot liability currently totals 11,800,000.0," he told senators, describing how COVID‑era shutdowns and hurricane damage worsened cash flow that already strained the company’s ability to meet a statutory minimum pilot set at the greater of 10% of revenues or $700,000.
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