SVEND AAGE OVESEN JR. SEAPLANE TERMINAL
Christiansted, St. Croix
The Svend Aage Ovesen Seaplane Terminal on St. Croix is located in Water Gut in Christiansted. Seaplane service is available from this facility daily from Christiansted to downtown Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Flights are also available to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and packages are offered to connect passengers to the British Virgin Islands via inter-island ferries. Visit Seaborneairlines.com for more information about other destinations.
Captain Svend Aage Ovesen Jr.
Svend Aage Ovesen Jr. was a skilled and highly respected aviator from the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was born on January 6, 1942, in Frederiksted, St. Croix, to Svend and Josephine Lee Ovesen. After graduating from high school, he joined the Navy, where he served in communications. In 1963, he began working as an operations and communications agent at Pan-American World Airways on St. Croix. He advanced to the position of director of the airline until 1976, when Pan-Am ceased operations on the island.
In 1998, Ovesen earned his license to operate seaplanes, as well as single- and multi-engine aircraft. He secured his first pilot position in 1978 with Antilles Airboats, becoming the first native Virgin Islander to captain one of their airboats, which serviced the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. He and his wife later established their own charter service, Crucian International Airline, utilizing an executive eight-seat aircraft. Ovesen was also one of the founding members of St. Croix Air Park. The Ovesens expanded their charter services to include medical emergency evacuations.
In April 1995, Ovesen and Irvine Clifford set two speed records by flying a III Astra AJ 24 jet from St. Croix to New York City, and from Boca Raton, Florida, back to St. Croix.
Tragically, Ovesen died in a plane crash in Puerto Rico on April 15, 2002, while flying a chartered medical evacuation flight. In his honor, the seaplane facility in Christiansted, St. Croix, was named after him by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands through Act No. 7335.
