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MACS Maritime Carrier Shipping (MACS), in partnership with the St Helena Government (SHG), has announced a temporary adjustment to the St Helena shipping service, with 10 sailings scheduled for 2026 instead of the originally planned 12.

The change follows discussions with the St Helena Chamber of Commerce and cargo receivers and comes in response to exceptional increases in global marine fuel costs.  The ongoing Middle East conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted fuel supplies and significantly increased global bunker (marine fuel) prices, creating substantial operational cost pressures across the shipping industry.

MACS and SHG recognise the vital role that shipping plays in supporting the island’s residents, businesses and supply chains.  Both organisations remain committed to maintaining reliable cargo services and ensuring the continued availability of essential goods and supplies.

A detailed sailing schedule will be circulated to all stakeholders as soon as it is finalised.  MACS will continue to work closely with SHG, importers, businesses and cargo receivers to minimise disruption and maintain continuity of supply during this period.

Commenting on the decision, MACS and SHG emphasised that the adjustment is a proactive and responsible response to extraordinary market conditions and is intended to safeguard the long-term sustainability of the service for the benefit of St Helena.

 MACS and SHG thank all cargo receivers, businesses and stakeholders for their understanding, cooperation and ongoing support as this temporary cost-mitigation measure is implemented.

#StHelena #MACS #ShippingSchedule

The St Helena Customs and Immigration Office wishes to remind the public of the official procedures and new support options available for passport applications.

When applying for a British passport, all requirements are strictly set by His Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO).

Please note that ensuring your passport application is completed correctly, signed, and accompanied by all necessary supporting documentation remains the sole responsibility of you the applicant.

New Assistance Locations Available

To help ensure your paperwork is accurate, the Immigration and Customs Office is pleased to advise that application assistance for both British and BOTC (St Helenian) passports is now available at the following locations:

Book an Appointment: Assistance will be available Mondays to Wednesdays from 9.30am to 1pm and is by appointment only. Please call the Public Library on 22580, or the SHCC and CASH Office on  22607 to make a booking.

Application Submission and Fees

The Immigration and Customs Office at Ruperts remains open to receive both types of applications.

Office Hours and Contact Details

To schedule an appointment at the main offices at Ruperts, please call 22287.

OfficeDayHours & Access Type
Immigration OfficeMondays and Fridays   Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays09:00 – 15:00 (Drop-ins welcome)   By Appointment Only
Customs OfficeMondays to Fridays09:00 – 15:00 (Standard Hours)

#StHelena #PassportApplications #CustomsandImmigration

The St Helena Government is pleased to announce the official opening of the new playgrounds at Half Tree Hollow (HTH) and Longwood Green. A formal opening ceremony will be held at 13:30 tomorrow, Wednesday 8 July 2026, at the Half Tree Hollow playground.

Important Parking and Traffic Information

Due to single-lane access to the HTH playground and strictly limited parking on-site, members of the public and attendees are kindly requested to use the Half Tree Hollow Community Centre car park.

Parking spaces directly at the playground must be kept clear and are strictly reserved for HE the Governor and official vehicles. We appreciate the cooperation of all motorists and attendees in keeping traffic flowing smoothly.

SHG would like to extend its sincere thanks to the HTH Community Centre for their support, as well as the various portfolios, public donors, and overseas organisations whose generous contributions made this project possible, including funding by the FCDO through the UK Government.

All are welcome to join us in celebrating the opening of these fantastic new community spaces.

St Helena Government (SHG) wishes to inform the public that a small number of non-urgent operations at Jamestown Hospital have been postponed over the past two weeks due to an unexpected technical issue affecting essential theatre equipment.

SHG would like to reassure the community that emergency and urgent surgery will continue to be provided safely.

The postponements are the result of technical faults affecting the Hospital’s anaesthetic machines. Despite extensive efforts by local staff working remotely with the manufacturer, the faults cannot be resolved on island. The Hospital can still provide safe anaesthesia using alternative equipment, but this is a more complex and time-consuming process and is therefore being reserved for essential and urgent procedures.

As a result, non-urgent surgery will continue to be postponed until replacement anaesthetic machines arrive on the island. These machines have already been purchased and are expected to arrive on the next scheduled visit of the MV Karoline, due on 24 July. Unfortunately, these specialist items cannot be transported by air.

Throughout this period, the Hospital will continue to provide safe, emergency, and urgent surgical care.

SHG would like to thank those patients whose procedures have been postponed for their understanding and patience while we work to restore normal services.

#StHelena #Hospital #AnaestheticMachines

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Please be advised that the Central Support Service, will be closed on Friday 10 July to allow staff to attend their Away Day.

These office closures will include the Legislative Council staff office, the Archives and Communications Hub. For any emergency press matters please call the Castle switchboard 22470

The Castle Switchboard will continue to be staffed until 16:00.

Normal business will resume on Monday, 13 July 2026 at 08:30.

We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The Governor’s Office wishes to inform members of the public that, due to a technical fault with the biometrics enrolment system, they are currently unable to process biometric enrolments for UK visa and British registration applications.

Technical support has been sought to resolve the issue and restore full service as soon as possible. The Governor’s Office sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused and appreciates customers’ patience during this time.

An update will be provided as soon as the system becomes operational again.

A meeting of Executive Council (ExCo) was held on 01July 2026.

The agenda for the meeting was as follows:

CLOSED AGENDA  
1. Declaration of Interest  
2. St Helena Hotel Development Ltd’s Loan of £1 Million and SHG Guarantee (ExCo Memo 25/2026)  
3. Appropriation Bill, 2026 St Helena Government Budget for the Financial Year 2026 – 2031 (ExCo Memo 26/2026)  
4. Banking Strategy Update (ExCo Memo 27/2026)  
5. Any Other Business  
NB Items marked (*) are commercially sensitive and depending on the subject matter, might not be referred to in the top lines.

The following items were considered:

  1. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2. St Helena Hotel Development Ltd’s Loan of £1 Million and SHG Guarantee (ExCo Memo 25/2026)

Executive Council was asked to consider and advise, in relation to the St Helena Hotel Development Ltd’s (SHHDL) £1 million loan with the Bank of St Helena Ltd (BoSH), whether:

a) The St Helena Government (SHG) Guarantee on the loan should be extended, and if so, a Variation to the Guarantee should be taken forward as Government business at the next formal Legislative Council meeting; or

b) SHG repays the £1 million loan on behalf of SHHDL from the Consolidated Fund in full negating the need for a Government Guarantee; or

c) SHG repays part of the £1 million loan on behalf of SHHDL and seeks an extension to the existing Guarantee for the remaining amount and presents this Variation to the Guarantee as Government business at the next formal Legislative Council meeting.

Members and two Directors from the SHHDL Board discussed the options noting the following pertinent points:

Executive Council accepted and approved option a) as the more prudent course of action, in light of the current uncertainties surrounding Conditionality. In doing so, Council noted that options b) and c) remained available for future consideration, subject to the completion of the relevant workstreams and budget outcomes.

It was further noted that SHHDL would be discussed with Elected Members during the Ministers’ update session scheduled for 2 July.

3. Appropriation Bill, 2026 St Helena Government Budget for the Financial Year 2026 – 2031 (ExCo Memo 26/2026)

Executive Council was asked to advise whether the Appropriation Bill, 2026, should be printed, published and presented as Government business at the Legislative Council meeting to be held on 17 July 2026.

Members noted the background and development of the Bill under the following key headings:

Executive Council accepted and recommended that the Appropriation Bill, 2026 be presented at Legislative Council on 17 July 2026.  The Bill and accompanying Pink Book will be published in accordance with the stated timelines.

Ministers expressed their sincere appreciation to members of the Public Service for the support shown to the new Ministerial team during the preparation of the Budget process.

4. Banking Strategy Update (ExCo Memo 27/2026)

Executive Council was asked to consider and advise whether:

a) the proposed strategy to secure appropriate commercial banking services to support the Company Registry Transformation (“CRT”) under the Financial Services and Company Registry Development (“FSCRD”) Programme should be approved; and

b) the process currently being undertaken which is exploring the feasibility of SHG selling its shareholding in Bank of St Helena (“BoSH”) should be paused, while at the same time mandating improvements in BoSH service offering including international debit cards, more competitive money transfer fees and access to a wider range of financial services products.

Discussion focused on the key considerations including:

Executive Council noted that any future consideration of BoSH ownership must be carefully assessed against the island’s long-term economic interests, service needs and financial resilience.  

Executive Council approved the proposed strategy to secure appropriate commercial banking services. The approach would be to seek to secure overseas banks that would be willing to accept St Helena companies as a class of clients. The overseas banks do not need to set up a local licensed presence on St Helena.

Executive Council further agreed to pause exploring the feasibility of SHG selling its shareholding in the BoSH. This decision gives BoSH clear direction to pursue their current programme of modernisation to improve and expand their local service provision.

5. Any Other Business

#StHelena #ExCo #Toplines

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A meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will take place on Wednesday 15 July 2026 from 12:30 to 14:00. This meeting will be held at the Corporate Services Conference Room in The Castle, Jamestown.

The agenda will include a Police and Crime Panel report from the Temporary Director of Police and a question and answer (QA) section from the panel. A report summary will be made available to the public the day before the meeting via the SHG website at www.sainthelena.gov.sh/portfolios/safety-security-and-home-affairs/police-service/.

The panel consists of the following members:

We welcome attendance and input from all community members and stakeholders.

For more information, please contact the Temporary Director of Police, Julian Pezzani, by telephone on (+290) 22626 or by email through julian.pezzani@sainthelena.gov.sh.

You can also view the Police and Crime Plan online at St-Helena-Police-Service-Police-and-Crime-Plan-v1.1.pdf.

The meeting will be live streamed via the SHG YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sthelenagovernment1638. A recording of the meeting will be uploaded following the meeting.

The Corporate Services Conference Room is on the top floor of the Castle. Alternative arrangements are being offered for anyone who is unable to access the room, please contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 22133 or email mary@humanrightssthelena.org.

Following each meeting printed versions of the Police and Crime Panel report will also be made available at the Customer Service Centre and Public Library. Previous reports are now available to view at these locations.

#StHelena #RSHP #PoliceandCrimePanel

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The Royal St Helena Police Service (RSHP) would like to extend its sincere thanks to all community members who took the time to complete the public survey distributed in May of this year.

Your feedback is invaluable in helping us shape a safer, more supportive environment for everyone on the island. Based on the responses received, we have identified three key areas of focus and are pleased to share the immediate actions we are taking to address them:

Enhancing Community Interaction and Rebuilding Trust

A primary theme from the survey was the desire for more face-to-face interaction with officers to rebuild public trust and confidence.

Bridging the Gap and Returning to True Community Policing

Feedback indicated a perceived gap between the police and the public, with a strong collective desire to return to the island’s traditional, close-knit style of community policing.

Monitoring and Combating Underage Alcohol Consumption

Underage drinking was highlighted as a significant ongoing concern for residents.

Moving Forward Together

Every comment submitted in the survey is being taken on board as we continually look for ways to improve. Your insights directly support our core policing priorities:

Chief of Police, Julian Pezzani, commented:

“You are the community, and we are here to listen to you. Thank you for your continued partnership and for helping us keep St Helena safe.”

#StHelena #RoyalStHelenaPolice # RSHP #PublicSurvey

The Health and Social Care Portfolio (HSC) is exploring options to deliver a selective influenza (flu) vaccination campaign later this year.  Members of the public are being asked to register their interest to ensure that enough vaccines are ordered ahead of the Northern Hemisphere (e.g. United Kingdom) flu season, which typically peaks in December or January.

Only some groups of people will be eligible to receive the flu vaccine, these include:

People belonging to one or more of these groups are invited to register their interest in receiving the flu vaccine by completing an online form which can be accessed at the following link – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/shflu or by scanning the QR code below with a smartphone.

If needed, someone else can complete this online form for you. 

Alternatively, you can register your interest by calling the Health Promotion team on 25949 or emailing healthpromotion@sainthelena.gov.sh.

Children and young people aged up to 16 years, pregnant women, people living in a residential or nursing home, and frontline health and social care workers are also invited to receive the flu vaccine.  However, these groups do not need to register their interest as enough vaccines will be ordered for everyone in these groups.

It is not yet certain that flu vaccines will be available from the global market. The public will be informed in due course as to whether the campaign will go ahead later this year.

QR Code

About flu

Flu is a common viral illness.  Common symptoms include a fever or high temperature, chills, tiredness or weakness, a headache, aches and pains, a dry cough and sore throat, a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, and diarrhoea or tummy pain.

You can catch flu all year round, but it is especially common at certain times of the year.  In St Helena, flu is usually more likely to be spread by people arriving from the Southern Hemisphere (e.g. South Africa) in May and June and from the Northern Hemisphere (e.g. the United Kingdom) in December or January.

You can catch flu many times because flu viruses change regularly.  Your body won’t have natural resistance to new versions. Flu vaccines are designed to protect you against the current strains of the virus.

Flu often gets better on its own within a few days, but it can become very serious – there was a small number of deaths due to flu infection in St Helena last year.

Certain groups are at greater risk of serious illness – it is important that you receive the flu vaccine if you are advised to do so.

You can prevent the spread of flu by:

You can treat mild cases of flu at home by:

You should seek medical attention if you: