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Political and defence Europe (by Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

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The Emirates equip the Seychelles fleet with 5 new ships

credit: Nation

The Seychelles maritime patrol fleet is now equipped with five new vessels. The United Arab Emirates had promised a supply of ships last July. Six months later, the promise is kept. Sheikh Saeed was, on Tuesday (January 4th), on the basis of the Seychellois coastguards of Bois de Rose to preside over the ceremony of handing over five ships to the Seychelles authorities: two patrol ships and three speedboats, equipped with the latest technologies.

115 islands to protect against pirates

The first objective remains the fight against piracy, as assured by the president of the archipelago, James Michel, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. "The fight against piracy is our primary concern today. (…) This allocation is of great importance for our armed forces. This will increase our capacity to fight against (this) threat and allow greater maritime surveillance. It will provide greater support and security to our fishermen and other sailors in the region. ". In this archipelago which has 115 islands, it is very difficult to fight against piracy. But there are also other threats, such as illegal fishing (fishing revenue is one of the island's main resources). Nothing therefore prevents these vessels from fulfilling all the functions of the State's presence at sea, such as action against illegal fishing.

A doubling of the Seychelles fleet

The two patrol ships were renamed and Frenchified. 30 meters long, “La Flèche” like “Le Vigilant” can carry a crew of 15 sailors. The three other boats are smaller: 7 meters, with a crew of 7 people. But they can reach speeds of 30 knots. Cost for the Emirates: $15 million. A trifle for the Gulf State. For Seychelles, a small state in the Indian Ocean, this nevertheless represents the doubling of its fleet. The coast guard already has two ships provided by India, the Topaz and the Andromache, which have distinguished themselves in previous months against pirates (1).

…and European aid of 3 million euros

This highly visible grant from the United Arab Emirates complements other aid, notably that provided by the European Union. In mid-December, the EU wrote a check for 3 million euros to the Seychelles under the European Development Fund, with the main objective of strengthening the fight against piracy and maritime surveillance. For the EU ambassador, Alessandro Mariani, as reported by our local colleague "Nation", the Seychelles have " played a constructive and important role in combating these illegal acts not only at the national level but also by developing a regional strategy, which was adopted during the second ministerial meeting of the region, held in October 2010 ».

This grant should cover both the direct costs related to maritime patrols and the strengthening of judicial and penitentiary structures for the pursuit of pirates as well as compensation for the industry (tourism, navigation, fishing) of the archipelago affected by piracy. Other funding is more geared towards more traditional development or social projects.

This grant is part of a more general increase in funding for the Seychelles. They were increased over the 2008-2013 period to 20,4 million euros against 5,9 million euros, as planned for the end of 2009.

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Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).