When a company specialised in transport and logistics moves office, you might expect it to proceed efficiently. It did.........with every member of staff playing a part.

Mahe Shipping have donated one million rupees to the Seychelles Covid-19 Relief Fund Foundation.  The donation was made on behalf of the company on 21 January 2021 by Managing Director Joe Morin and Finance Director Caroline Cetoupe. The directors of the company were unanimous in their support for the government in tackling the current unprecendented crisis .

H Savy Insurance Co Ltd, in which Mahe Shipping holds 11.25% of the equity donated a further SR1,000,000.

The world may be gripped by pandemic. There may have been no cruiseship calls at Seychelles for more than 6 months. Indeed there may be virtually no cruiseships sailing anywhere on the high seas right now. However, this has not prevented Seychelles from being named the best cruise destination in the Indian Ocean for the umpteenth time. Perhaps it has been that way since the first cruise passengers passed through the islands more than 500 years ago? Of course, Vasco da Gama never landed.  But then, there were no shipping agents in those days.
For more details see Seychelles Nation 12 November 2020

Folowing the election of Wavel Ramkalawan as President of Seychelles at elections held during 22-24 October 2020, a new Cabinet of Ministers has been appointed, including Mr Antony Derjacques as Minister for Transport.

Mr Derjacques visited Port Victoria, on Thursday 5 November 2020, having taken office two days earlier, holding a meeting with senior management and touring the port area.

For the full story covered by Seychelles News Agency, follow this link.

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 Nation has reported that 38 security personnel from the Seychelles Ports Authority, Seychelles Coast Guard, Anti-Narcotics Bureau, Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre and Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration have undergone training in anti-terrorism security at Port Victoria.

The training, conducted by security specialists from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service of the US Navy, aims to raise Port Victoria’s security standards to international safety norms required by the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

The training was undertaken after the American Coast Guard had placed Port Victoria on an advisory list for being unsafe after it discovered a number of deficiencies in terms of anti-terrorism security. The training is to tighten up the loopholes in security at Port Victoria through conducting proper search of vehicles, cargo and personnel. The training forms part of a collaborative effort by the American and Seychelles governments to get Port Victoria to be struck off from the advisory list.

The full story can be read here

 A U.N. ruling has extended Seychelles’ Exclusive Economic Zone by 14,840 square kilometres, about 30 times the entire landmass of the archipelago. The area is said to consist of seabed and subsoil that is possibly suitable for resource exploration.
The chief executive of PetroSeychelles, Patrick Joseph, described the extension as “an additional area where we can conduct research for resources under the sea, for example, oil exploration. We don’t know if there is but we have the opportunity now to do the research because the area is now ours.”
Vice President Meriton said, “There is now the possibility to work towards getting more data with our international partners and then invite people who are interested to see what can potentially be exploited in the area, of course on a sustainable basis, to ensure that anything we find can be used for the economic and social development of our country,” added Meriton.
Seychelles is also in the process of claiming an area around the remote island of Aldabra and together with Mauritius, jointly manages part of the Mascarene Plateau.

For more details see the following link:
Seychelles News Agency