The launching of Seychelles Pioneer |20 November 2004

The launching of the Seychelles Pioneer freed the shipyard for the start of construction of a third tanker, to be named the Seychelles Progress.
Sepec’s executive chairman Guy Adam was also present at the shipyard for the keel-laying of the third tanker.

It is estimated that when all three super tankers are in operation, and after the repayment of loans and other expenses for the running of the vessels, profit earnings from the transportation of petroleum products could bring Seychelles over $8 million dollars a year.

The christening of newly-built vessels is traditionally performed by women. Ms Nathalie Pothin, the companion of President James Michel, was invited to honour the occasion and as the ship’s godmother, she smashed the bottle of champagne on the bow, after pronouncing the words “I name you Seychelles Pioneer and wish you bon voyage every time and always a hand’s breadth of water under the keel.”

A Police Music Corps then band played the National Anthems of Seychelles and the Federal Republic of Germany.

It was Mrs Maryse Adam, the wife Captain Adam, who performed the christening of the first tanker Seychelles Pride at the same shipyard in February 2002.

After the unveiling of the Seychelles Pioneer name on the sides of the tanker, the ship slid into the Bay of Kiel, to cheers from the crowd.

Immediately after the launching the Seychelles Pioneer was brought alongside the shipyard’s quay for the installation of the superstructure which was built separately.

The Seychellois delegation at the launching also comprised Captain Adam and wife, Seychelles Europe Ambassador Callixte d’Offay, Presidential Affairs director general Derrick Ally, and Honorary Consul Hans-Joachim Worms from Hamburg.

Mr Dirk Lindenau, managing director of the shipyard, said in his speech that the vessel, with a length of approximately 185 metres and a cargo tank volume of 43, 350, 000 litres, was the biggest double-hull tanker the yard had ever built.

Other speeches at the launching were delivered by the Prime Minister of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Dr Heide Simonis and the Mayor of Kiel.

The launching ceremony was followed by a launch at the Maritim Hotel Bellevue.

Profile of Sepec

Sepec, which owns the vessels, was incorporated in 1985 when the local operations of the Shell Oil Company were nationalised.  As a Government-owned parastatal, run entirely by Seychellois nationals, it has been a credit to the nation’s growing self-reliance and expertise in a high technology sector.

The company has been entrusted with the sole responsibility of meeting the country’s fuel requirement in four key areas: local consumption, power generation, marine bunkering and aviation refueling.  Recognising that energy is the lifeblood of any economy, the company has consistently and reliably guaranteed supply of fuel and strives to continually improve efficiency, maximise cost-effectiveness and remain a competitive force in the region.

Storage

The company aims to capitalise on its strategic location in the region by serving as a hub in terms of fuel storage and transshipment activities. To this end, it has invested in enviable storage capacity of approximately 100,000 metric tons, state-of-the art-fire fighting and computerised tank monitoring facilities.
The company’s present storage capacity is split as follows:

Bulk Fuel:

Victoria Depot            93,653 metric tonnes
Airport Depot              3,504 metric tonnes
Praslin Depot                    597 metric tons

LPG (Newport Depot)       700 metric tones

LPG consumption

A government nation-wide campaign has resulted in successful phasing out of kerosene for cooking purposes and in turn leading to increased domestic consumption of LPG from 140 to 320 metric tonnes a month.  Previously, the LPG storage plant catered for only 40 metric tons fixed capacity and necessitated regular shipments by ISO tanktainers.
This was replaced by an 800 metric tons storage and filling plant, which allows for bulk shipment by dedicated LPG carriers, thus eliminating the more hazardous tanktainer shipments and greatly reducing freight costs. The storage plant is currently being expanded from 1560 to 2730 cubic metres, thereby accommodating 1100-1200 metric tons of LPG, and is expected to be fully operational by September 2004.  Thus will result in further freight savings.
LPG tanks of 1-2 tonne capacity, are being installed at hotels, restaurants and other heavy-duty LPG consumers, thus ensuring more efficient and cost-effective distribution by mobile refueller. 

Lubricants

Although Sepec does not hold monopoly in the supply of lubricants, it continues to ensure availability and reliability of this product to its domestic consumers, at competitive prices.

BSI-ISO-9001: 2000 Accreditation

In May 2004, the company was accredited ISO-9001: 2000 for quality management systems, certified by BSI.  The scope covered is procurement, storage and distribution of petroleum products to domestic and international markets.
The achievement is particularly important as it serves to affirm the company’s on-going efforts to continually strive for improvement and helps to promote client confidence in the reliability and quality of service provided as per international standards.

Re-exports

Exportation of petroleum products in the region represents 75 percent of the company’s total revenues and is a major contributor of foreign exchange to the national economy.  The company’s international clientele is derived from marine bunkering, aviation refueling and transshipment activities.  Although it has monopoly supply on the domestic market the company has to maintain its competitiveness in the region on the basis of product quality, availability of supply, service delivery and price.

Tanker Investments

In 2002, the company made a bold move to diversify upstream and control its own logistics by investing in its first tanker, Seychelles Pride.  Indeed, the board and the shareholder have recognised the long-term benefits derived in tanker investment and have approved construction of two more tankers, Seychelles Pioneer and Seychelles Progress which as earlier mentioned, are expected to be delivered in April 2004 and August 2005 respectively.

Since its delivery on June 18 2002, Seychelles Pride has proved to be a valuable asset and revenue earner for the company and the country.  The 32,000 metric ton double hull tanker has operated successfully in Europe, Western Africa, North America and the Indian Ocean.

Petrol Stations

New petrol stations, with an esthetically pleasing and tropical-oriented design, are being erected on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, phasing out the existing ones, which are over 20 years old.  This will further ensure that the company adhere to the latest international norms for petrol station layout and safety regulations, and provides higher standards of service to the local customers.

To date, three such stations have been completed on Praslin and Anse Royale, Mahe and construction has started in June 2004 on a fourth, the Victoria South Petrol Station.

LPG tanks of 1-2 ton capacity, are being installed at hotels, restaurants and other heavy-duty LPG consumers, thus ensuring more efficient and cost-effective distribution by mobile refueller.