All at sea |15 March 2025
Seychelles is often perceived as a beach resort, with the sector – and a big chunk of our GDP – driven by hotels and guest houses. However, this perspective runs the risk of overlooking the nautical side of the tourism business, which is an extremely important recreational segment which contributes extensively to the nation's tourism revenue. TheSeychelles waters offer perfect conditions for a huge range of tourism activities – from bareboat charter, skippered charter, excursions and trips such as glass bottom boats, to jet skis and water sports, paragliding and so on. We have a great many privately owned ‘super’ yachts visiting Seychelles but there is a robust trade in chartered yachts (with or without crew), catamarans and mono-hulls. And let’s not forget professional open water fishing charters, inclusive of fly fishing around the outer islands. With our envied position outside of the cyclone belt, the Seychelles is accessible as a charter destination year round.
Nautical tourism is (mostly) regulated by the SMSA (the Seychelles Maritime Safety Authority), a body which the SHTA has had a number of meetings with over the last few years in order to represent concerns felt by the tourism professionals who actually do the work and generate the income. SMSA’s function (enshrined in legislation dating from the Faure administration) is to ‘administer, regulate, co-ordinate and oversee maritime affairs and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’. The SMSA Act lists the duties incumbent upon the organisation – more than 30 in all – primarily concerned with regulatory and financial matters. Naturally these only apply to legal and registered businesses, with proprietors advocating tighter control and pursuit and prosecution of illegal operators.
SHTA sounded out nautical tourism professionals on the issue of whether the legislation – and the enactment of it by the SMSA – is good enough to cater for the demands of the sector. We were told that there are obstacles to ‘ease of business’ in the nautical tourism sector. Of course this is to be expected, as within and outside the tourism sector most businesses would advocate a reduction in bureaucracy, red tape and form-filling. So to put meat onto the bones of general concerns we asked for specific examples where protocols could be improved without compromising the key objectives of the Association.
One charter vessel owner told us about cost concerns:
“Once a boat leaves the marina on Mahé the options are anchorages. Whereas, in all the established charter areas around the world you can pull into a different marina every night and get access to electricity and water for €10 to €50 for an average yacht, in Seychelles you are being charged even where there is no suitable facility provided. For example a 47-foot yacht was recently charged R1440 plus an extra charge for some water when it stopped on La Digue for 24 hours. Just to dock and drop your guests for a sight-seeing visit to Praslin or La Digue will incur a charge of R60 for the boat and a R25 disembarkation fee for each guest. Most of the best anchorages are within marine parks where you are charged an overnight “mooring” fee but no moorings are provided, with each yacht sitting on its own anchor. Mooring buoys are lacking and there should be a proper system of establishing mooring buoys, collecting fees for their use and with the revenue dedicated to proper maintenance.”
So it would appear that some of the charges and fees levied are unpopular (again not an uncommon feeling). While on the topic of costs we also heard that….
“Fuel costs are high and unlike the fishing industry the charter industry does not get any concessions. The cost of maintaining a boat in Seychelles is high and we struggle to get parts. You can lose a $30000 charter because of a relatively cheap part that is not available in the country or is stuck in the clearance pipeline.
Insurance is also expensive when brokered through the Seychelles, with costs typically four times that for cover through the United Kingdom (and inferior to boot). UK insurers allegedly only require a vessel survey every three years, whereas Seychelles insurers require an annual report, which of course adds to costs.”
As with so many tourism sectors, the nautical professionals feel that greater collaboration and consultation between the public and private sectors is necessary. Another input on this follows:
“It is a regrettable fact that a two-tier licensing system was brought in without proper consultation with the private sector. These two tiers are based on registration, and are applied according to whether a vessel is, by registration, foreign or local. The difference in cost is vast, with a 47-foot ‘Seychelles’ monohull costing R8000, while an identical ‘foreign’ vessel costs $3500. This can serve as a significant disincentive to a foreign investor who wishes to place a vessel into a Seychelles-operated fleet.”
Quite apart from cost-related logistics SHTA heard concerns about the lack of ‘policing’ of open waters where tourists might be swimming, snorkelling or kayaking (for example). Quite who would patrol and intervene when there are concerns is unclear. Regardless, there have been a number of close calls (in terms of fatalities) of late, with tourists injured – in some cases seriously – by fast moving speed boats or jet skis. While some operators have a pretty laid back approach to this scenario, others – perhaps in anticipation of the publicity fall-out which would follow the manslaughter of a tourist in open waters – are very worried. One operator who does care ventured the following:
“Personally I think there should be a 5 knots speed limit in all areas where boats are anchored or moored. There are operators in the marine parks who tear around between an island and a catamaran on a dinghy without proper care and attention. There are other thoughtless acts – one which springs to mind being the sight of a catamaran skipper dangling the carcass of a bonito in the water so that his guests could photograph sharks. Most of the accidents are due to a lack of care, attention and proper training.
There are also issues around operators sailing with out-of-date flares (with SMSA exemption) and life rafts not being 100% fit for purpose due to a lack of servicing facilities.”
One final concern echoes a great deal of SHTA’s concerns published previously in these pages, namely training. A number of operators are experiencing severe shortages of boat skippers and crew, with one company suggesting that the maritime school prioritises the preparation of students for work on the four nationally run oil tankers at the expense of the (more than) 230 charter vessels. As is always the case, if businesses cannot recruit the staff they need locally then they have to recruit from overseas, and this places them at the mercy of the Ministry of Employment, where any delay or rejection of GOPs can lead to vessels unable to take to sea.
Looking to the future, and being mindful of a reported downturn in nautical tourism numbers, SHTA asked what could be done, either by government or by the private sector, to improve the attraction to tourists of taking to the seas. Again, we received the same suggestion from a number of sources, namely that SMSA and the private sector should have communication channels which are conducive to solving problems and enabling expensive sea craft to be on the waves earning money rather than in dock due to a minor bureaucratic technicality. Facilitation is key on both sides, with SHTA advocating reasonable and common sense solutions to problems as they arise, ideally through rapidly convened ‘face to face’ meetings.
Negotiations which facilitate rather than obstruct (on both sides of the table) should be the order of the day, with everyone operating with integrity and without bias or favour. The Act of 2019/20 stipulates an independent Appeals Board – arbitration in effect – which in theory should serve as a decision-making body should prior mediation between SMSA and a business fail.
Generally the SMSA has a vital function in our tourism sector and there were plaudits given regarding its performance to SHTA by tourism professionals. However SHTA believes that it is rare that we find an interface between government and the private sector which is perfect, and therefore any specific proposals from tourism professionals should be received in a constructive and appreciative fashion. As always, the SHTA advocates working together, especially at these present difficult times.
Contributed by SHTA