SEYCHELLES COMPLETES NETWORK OF INDIAN OCEAN SURVEILLANCE RADAR STATIONS
(Posted 29th March 2016)
The launch of the last of six new radar stations, capable to monitor and survey the extensive Indian Ocean waters around the Seychelles’ archipelago, will give the islands’ citizens and visitors added comfort of mind, it was learned over the long weekend from a source based on the main island of Mahe.
State of the art radar installations on Mahe have been matched with similar units as far as the island of Assumption – near the Aldabra Atoll which is closer to Madagascar than to Mahe – but also on the islands of Alphonse, Astove and Farquhar, providing a security ring around the archipelago which ocean area is in excess of 1.3 million square kilometres (EEZ).
Supported by the government of India, which earlier had donated two Dornier surveillance aircraft and naval units to help the Seychelles more effectively monitor, survey and secure the archipelago’s waters, did the funding by the Indian government underscore the close ties the two countries have developed in the more recent past.
The capacity to detect foreign vessels which are illegally fishing in the Seychelles waters, but also being able to identify intrusions into the archipelago’s territorial waters, has been vastly improved by the new state of the art equipment. The stations, which are all linked by satellite connections to the Coast Guard base on Ile Perseverance, will support national security for the island nation and ensure the safety of visitors and locals alike.
