Creation of maritime museum-Port authority seeks lead role |06 February 2007

One of the people who attended the meeting, which was held recently at the port, was the special adviser in the Ministry of the Arts, Culture and Sports, Patrick Nanty, whose ministry, he said, initiated the idea of such a museum some time back.

“We have been preparing for the creation of the museum for over a year and SPA is interested to participate and to play a leading role in the implementation of the project,” Mr Nanty said, adding that some research has already been done.

“We are quite happy that the port authority is interested in this project because it is in line with the spirit of partnership,” he said.

It was SPA’s chief executive officer, Lt Col Andre Ciseau, who gave the presentation to an audience that included archivists, the Mayor of Victoria, Florence Benstrong, and Mr Nanty.

Lt Col Ciseau said that a major reason for considering such a facility is the fact that during weekends and evenings many places in Victoria are closed and tourists arriving at such times do not have much to see.

He said that the audience took the idea very well.

“They are very positive about the idea. They have the techniques, the knowledge and some of the material that can be put in such a museum but they do not have the proper infrastructure,” Lt Col Ciseau told Nation.

He said even SPA does not have infrastructure, but would develop it if the government granted SPA the authority to go ahead with such a project.

He said that besides the tourists being able to buy souvenirs, they would also learn about the maritime history of Seychelles.

“Seychellois, especially students, would also be able to benefit from knowledge that such a museum would offer because the facility would be outside the port’s premises and therefore accessible to the general public,” Lt Col Ciseau said.