From Port Strategy

The port authorities of Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion and Seychelles are all members of the Association of Ports of the Indian Ocean Islands (APIOI), which was officially established last year.

 â€œThe aim of the association is to provide a basic platform for member countries – through cooperation, collaboration, competition, dialogue/information sharing and, to some extent, specialization – to face mounting challenges regionally and internationally in the liner shipping, cargo transportation, handling and other maritime/port-related industries,” says Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) spokesman David Bianchi.

Alongside transshipment, a common thread is the push to attract more cruise business; SPA is responsible for the promotion of cruise in the region.

“The cruise industry is seasonal – October to April – but nonetheless constitutes an important business for Port Victoria, the country itself being popular internationally as an exotic tourist destination,” says Mr. Bianchi. “The SPA, in partnership with private tourism agencies in the country, regularly participates in international trade/cruise fairs as part of its promotional efforts to increase the number of cruise liners that visit the country. This is proving to be a successful strategy.”

The challenges facing the Port of Victoria and other regional ports include the worldwide changes in the patterns of maritime transportation brought about by factors such as cost consolidation by shipping lines, economies of scale and cost of fuel. “Seychelles is a relatively small and geographically isolated country with a small population and correspondingly small volume of imports,” says Mr. Bianchi. “These factors have more severe impacts on the country but must be surmounted by SPA in order to keep the flow of maritime traffic to the Seychelles.”

Tourism and fishing remain the country’s bread and butter and SPA remains committed to improving facilities for these two industries as well as other maritime transportation sectors, he adds.

Port Victoria handled 25,400 teu and total tonnage of 690,000 tons in 2007. The projection for 2008 is 26,000 teu and 700,000 tons. The principal cargoes include fuels, construction materials, salt for the fishing industry, forest products, vehicles, foodstuffs and the export of processed fish. Tuna transshipment is a major activity.

Several development projects are being considered, including a petroleum tanker berth, an extension of the commercial port, and additional berths for industrial fishing vessels.