Following the announcement that Seychelles will ban cruise ships until 2022 to prevent the arrival of COVID-19 by sea, Rheanna Norris, Associate Analyst GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers the following analysis:

“The decision to ban cruise ships from visiting the Seychelles via its Victoria port could spark a major downturn for this tourism-reliant economy. Cruise ships do not only bring visitors to its 115 islands, but also encourages spending on entertainment and foodservice, alongside accommodation and inspiration for repeat trips.

“Arrivals to the Seychelles via cruise ships quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, with further increases forecasted for 2020 and beyond. This new legislation will eradicate this increase and the islands will rely on tourism by air travel only.

“According to GlobalData, tourism accounted for 25.5% of the Seychelles’ GDP in 2019, making it one of the most tourism dependent countries in the world. Alongside existing travel restrictions and a global slowdown in travel, banning cruise ships is further bad news for this luxury destination.

"This strategic move will help the Seychelles’ other key economic sector: fishing. As its port in Victoria is its only point of entry for the rest of the world, its priority is to not compromise the maritime industry and to protect the nation from the global pandemic at all costs.

“The Seychelles still have a point of entry for tourism via air, and it has already embarked on the road to recovery. With assistance from the government, civil society and Seychelles Investment Board, tourism businesses can look to adapt to the future and inevitable changes in travel.”

Prior to Covid-19, the cruise industry had been experiencing record growth, including 124 ocean-going cruise ships on order, an investment of about US$69 billion. Wybcke Meier, CEO of Tui Cruises, told the newspaper The Telegraph “I am convinced that in the long-term the demand for premium and luxury cruises will not change....we will see the demand for cruises return to pre-crisis level within 12 to 18 months.”

SEYCHELLES, SHIPS AND THE SEA, is now available at Amazon at this link:

SEYCHELLES, SHIPS AND THE SEA: The Story of the Lifeline of Seychelles

This is a maritime history of a maritime nation. There is a symbiotic relationship between ships, the islands and the people of Seychelles: islands are vital to ships as stepping stones across a vast ocean, ships have provided Seychelles with the means for cultural diffusion and for interaction between the people of Europe, Africa and Asia. Ships continue to provide the means to supply the islands on a major highway of maritime trade. The sound and sight of the sea is ever-present to those who live in Seychelles, and the sea is in the blood of Seychellois.
Seychelles is one of the smallest nations on earth in terms of land area but punches above its weight because of the richness and strategic importance of its surrounding ocean. With a vast Exclusive Economic Zone - the second largest in Africa and twenty-fourth in the world. The marine assets of Seychelles are the focus of the tourism industry and tuna fishing industry. The isolation of the islands has blessed Seychelles with a unique biodiversity, including 14 endemic birds, huge seabird colonies and the world’s largest population of giant tortoise. This is all thanks to the vastness of the ocean surrounding the islands. Seychelles was the last nation on earth to be inhabited by humans and it remains dependent upon ships crossing the Indian Ocean for its existence. This book was published in 1969 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of local shipping agents, Mahe Shipping Company, whose story is entwined with the maritime history of Seychelles from the steamship era to the modern age.

Seychelles has upgraded an indefinite ban on cruise ships to announce a ban on all calls until 2022. But how does the industry view the future? These are the top 10 cruise brands by market capacity:

Carnival Cruise Line
Some cruises may resume in North America on 1 August. 
Royal Caribbean International
Some services aim to resume 12 June.
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises has extended a freeze to 10 July.
Norwegian Cruise Line
An extension to 30 June has been announced.
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises has extended the voluntary suspension of its cruises to July.
Princess Cruises
Princess has cancelled its summer season.
AIDA Cruises
AIDA has frozen operations to 30 June.
Celebrity Cruises
Royal Caribbean Cruises plans to resume service where it can on 11 June.
Holland America Line
Holland America has extended its freeze of global operations and cancelled all Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England cruises for 2020.  In addition, Amsterdam will not operate the 79-day Grand Africa Voyage from Boston, Massachusetts, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was scheduled to depart on 3 October 2020.

Clearly some or even all of these dates may be over-optimistic. But the view of the industry is that this should be kept under continual review.

Following the discovery of an 11th Covid-19 case in Seychelles, a  lockdown period of almost a month was enforced. Mahe Shipping continued to provide clearing and forwarding services to the community throughout this period, including some staff working from home and a skeleton staff at Head Office.  With no further cases detected and lockdown restrictions eased the company is now operating full steam ahead once again, as illustrated in this photo from Andy Gobine, Head of Freight Forwarding and Relocations.

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Didier Dogley has announced a ban on visiting cruiseships with immediate effect until the beginning of 2022. An indefinite ban was already in place in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Given that cruise itineraries are typically scheduled two or more years in advance, the long term impact of this measure will undoubtedly be felt for many years to come.

There have been 11 cases of Covid-19 in Seychelles and no deaths. All cases have been linked directly or indirectly to Seychelles International Airport and incoming flights.

Seychelles waters have been closed to cruise ships with immediate effect. Announcing the decision, Didier Dogley, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine said "Following our discussion and based on the global situation where we have seen the number of people infected and also its spread, the way it is being transmitted all over the world, especially in Europe, where most of our clients come from, we have decided with immediate effect to annul all activities related to cruise ships in Seychelles’ waters.”

Jude Gedeon from Seychelles Health authority added, “The route of the cruise ship during the last 14 days is not always clear. What contacts have they made in the ports they’ve gone through? And the one coming tomorrow has gone through several ports which has had transmissions of the coronavirus so with abundance of caution we have decided that it is not a good idea to take the risk and let passengers disembark".

“In principle when you have a suspected case in a crowd going into its thousands, management to take care of up to 3,000 people, we do not have the resources to do that. Even if we say we will isolate them in their boat, if someone falls sick on board whose conditions worsens and as per WHO’s regulations, the person must be bought to land for treatment. Our facilities do not allow us to take large numbers”.

The survey vessel Geo Resolution has visited Mahe, with Mahe Shipping Company acting as ship's agents.  Geo Resolution is a specialist survey vessel, acquired by EGS in 2014. Prior to that the 68m long and 13m wide vessel was engaged as a US and later New Zealand Navy hydrographic survey vessel.

Geo Resolution has completed a survey for a second submarine cable, collecting data to be analysed in connection with the project. The survey is required to determine the precise location for the placement of the cable.

The full story can be read here:
Seychelles Nation 03.03.2020

A Sri Lankan registered fishing boat has been intercepted by the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) on suspicion of fishing illegally in the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This is the first arrest of 2020 relating to suspected illegal fishing in Seychelles waters. In 2019, there were seven cases, resulting in five successful prosecutions.

The boat with seven fishermen on board was spotted by a Seychelles Air Force Dornier aircraft during a routine patrol south of Mahé on 26 February .  The Seychelles Coast Guard Patrol ship Etoile was quickly dispatched to intercept the vessel. On boarding in the morning of 27 February, the inspectors from Seychelles Fishing Authority noted evidence of possible illegal fishing activities. The boat was escorted to Port Victoria,and an investigation has begun.

Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA), Seychelles Investment Board (SIB) and the Blue Economy department are coordinating a study to assess the potential to establish a full-scale, professional ship repair industry in the country. The research will consider technical, environmental, administrative, legal, social and economic factors in the local context.

Mundy Penfold Limited (MPL), a UK-based consultancy firm won the bid for the project through open international tender. Mike Mundy and Andrew Penfold of MPL arrived in Seychelles on 19 January for a  fact-finding mission.

The study is expected to last 6 months with the final report submitted in June 2020.

On the Saturday 7 December 2019,  Rolly Cafrine, Head of Finance at Mahe Shipping Co. Ltd was married  to Marie Stella Lucas. The service was held at the Saint Jean Bosco Church at Pointe Larue, followed by reception at the Harbour Café Restaurant, Espace Building in Victoria.

Members of Mahe Shipping's Board of Directors, Management Team  and some staff members were among the guests invited to share in the special day of Rolly and Marie Stella at the ceremony and reception.

Congratulations to Rolly and Marie Stella (whose intials now match the company, MSC!) from everyone at Mahe Shipping.