(NITN): Cruise ships will be able to sail to Seychelles starting mid-November this year but with limitations on the size of the vessel and the number of passengers, according to media reports.
The island nation, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is known for its beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves and is a popular luxury holiday destination.
Small cruise ships with a maximum capacity of 300 passengers will be allowed, reports said.
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According to seychellesnewsagency.com, MS Island Sky operated by London-based Noble Caledonia will open the season with calls to four of Seychelles’ outer islands – Aldabra, Assumption, Farquhar and Cosmoledo.
According to a notification issued in March this year, the nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism had said that the Cabinet, taking into consideration the associated risks of the Covid-19 pandemic, had approved that, as a starting point, only small, sustainable cruise ships with a maximum capacity of 300 passengers will be allowed to dock in Port Victoria and cruise in the waters of Seychelles.
These ships will be on the luxury end attracting high-end clients with elevated spending power, thereby offering greater value addition the notification had said.
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Recently, various media reports quoted Alan Renaud, Principal Secretary for Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine, as saying that to facilitate the restart of cruise ship operations, the Department of Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine has developed a Covid-19 company and cruise ship checklist for operators, and a parallel Covid-19 Port Management Plan for the authorities to be introduced next month.
Other cruise companies are expected to follow MS Island Sky throughout the 2021-2022 season.
