Decommissioned PS Andromache sold for R320,000 at auction |29 July 2021
Equipped with the latest navigational and mechanical technologies and machinery, PS Andromache was a state-of-the-art military vessel when it was acquired in 1982
After 37 years of service in the fleet of the Seychelles Coast Guard, patrol vessel Andromache was on Tuesday sold at an auction for a total sum of R320,000.
It was businessman Roy Dinan who made the highest bid, surpassing the only other bidder at the auction which took place at the Coast Guard base at Persévérance.
Mr Dinan, who is still not sure what to do with the 42m long and 7.7m wide aluminium and steel decommissioned vessel, said he is very satisfied with the price he paid and does not regret his decision to make the purchase.
According to local sworn auctioneer and appraiser Willis Prosper, he feels there were not enough bidders who could have stepped up the final bidding price of the vessel.
He, however, added that they had to go along with what was available.
It was in 1983 that the Republic of Seychelles took a major step forward in assuring its citizens’ greater maritime security and protection of our sovereign rights through the acquisition of a new patrol ship named PS Andromache.
Built in Italy in 1982, the ship is 42m in length and 16m in breadth extreme.
It is of high importance to note that a handpicked group of individuals from the Seychelles Coast Guard were the ones who went to Italy and navigated the vessel to Port Victoria in 1983.
Equipped with the latest navigational and mechanical technologies and machinery, she was a state-of-the-art military vessel.
With a fuel capacity of 85 tonnes she could reach a top speed of 28 knots and had an endurance of approximately 2,000 nautical miles.
Patrol ship Andromache has undertaken various tasks and has proved worthy to the cause and to our nation’s plight against maritime threats, ranging from piracy, to the strategic development of most of our outer islands which were then remotely inaccessible.
PS Andromache has remained that regional force for good, and during her 37 years of service to the nation, she has answered Seychelles’ many calls, including acting as a tanker, transferring fuel to and from Ste Anne island when the island was used as storage location for fuel.
She was heavily involved in the development of the outer islands such as Remire, Assomption and Farquhar where she carried construction materials, facilitating the construction of infrastructures such as airstrips and houses.
During the time of our nation's greatest maritime challenge, PS Andromache played a key role in ensuring the protection of our island state's peace and stability by its active presence in our waters. Worth mentioning was the rescue of local fishing vessels Faith and also MV Beluga from the Somali pirates.
She has also been actively taking part in search and rescue operations and some occasional salvage operations over the years.
The following are some of the officers who were in command of PS Andromache during its 37 years of service: Commodore Paul Hodoul (ret), Captain Leonard Lablache (ret), Captain Mik Savy (ret) civ, Lieutenant Wills Jeanne (ret), Lieutenant Danny Gertrude (ret), Major Fabien Henriette (ret), Lieutenant Colonel Simon Laurencine (ret), Major Fernand Laporte (active) and Captain Alex Serret (active).
Roland Duval