Lady Esme for sale a second time |29 September 2005

The vessel was originally put up for tender in late April and awarded to the highest of three bids received by the National Tender Board (NTB) who asked for an extended time period to pay for the boat, in order to apply for a bank loan. When the loan failed to materialise the bid was rejected and further discussion about the future of Lady Esme began, said a member of the NTB secretariat.

After the members of the NTB came down against awarding the vessel to either of the two lower bids the decision was taken to re-tender it, with tender notices run in Seychelles Nation.

Lady Esme was purchased by IDC in the early 1980s after nearly twenty years offering a ferry service between the inner islands.

The sale of the 30-metre cargo vessel will leave IDC with Lady Genevieve as its only large supply boat, after the recent sale of Cinq Juin.

The new deadline for bids for Lady Esme, which must be placed in the tender box in the NTB's office in Liberty House, is October 10.