The ability of the Seychelles Coast Guard to combat maritime crimes has been given an added boost after a fast patrol vessel given by the Indian government was put into operation on Tuesday.
The vessel, PS Zoroaster, is a powerful, fuel-efficient platform designed to perform multi-purpose operations, such as patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching, and search and rescue. It can travel at a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles.
The commissioning and formal operationalisation of the vessel was carried out in a ceremony to coincide with the island nation’s Independence Day on Tuesday, June 29 at the Seychelles Coast Guard at Perseverance in the presence of President Wavel Ramkalawan.
The chief of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF), Colonel Michael Rosette, said that the formal operationalisation of the vessel “comes at an opportune moment where the current administration under the leadership of President Ramkalawan is putting much emphasis on combating maritime crimes related to narcotic traffic and illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing amongst others.”
