The Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) has received four updated hydrographic charts from India which will help make maritime navigation safer.

Indian high commissioner to Seychelles Sanjay Panda handed over the four charts to the principal secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, in a short ceremony at the ministry’s headquarters on Monday afternoon.

Mr Panda said the donation of the hydrographic charts is a result of the cooperation agreement Seychelles signed with India in the field of hydrography during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in March.

“In pursuance to our agreement I have the honour to present to you the four charts of which there are 25 copies each to be distributed,” Mr Panda said.

He added that another survey chart is also being finalised and will be handed over to the SCG in due course.

Mr Loustau-Lalanne commended India for the great cooperation it has with Seychelles.

“The fact that we are seeing some of the fruits of the agreement signed only a few months ago, demonstrates the good cooperation we have. I am now also looking forward to the next steps of the MoU that we signed namely getting the Seychelles hydrography unit back in operation,” Mr Loustau-Lalanne said.

Mr Loustau-Lalanne then handed over the charts to the Chief of Staff of the Seychelles People's Defence Forces (SPDF), Lieutenant Colonel Michael Rosette, who is also a hydrographer by profession and specialist in maritime boundary delimitations, and Lieutenant Colonel Georges Adeline, the military attaché in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lieutenant Colonel Rosette said the charts are based on updated data collected over a number of years, covering in details Port Victoria, the west coast of Mahé, Coetivy and Assumption islands.

He added that as per the agreement, India agreed to put these data on the charts for us.

“It is important for the Coast Guard to have updated charts to be able to navigate safely and also to properly plan its different operations,” Lieutenant Colonel Rosette pointed out.

Lieutenant Colonel Rosette noted that the four areas were chosen as they were found either to lack adequate data or to be in need of updated data.  

Meanwhile Lieutenant Colonel Rosette said the SCG is working with India to put the hydrography unit back in operation and this is well underway and a Seychellois hydrographer will soon be completing his masters in hydrography in India by the end of the year to run the unit.

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