8 March 2017 | Comments
The public is advised that further to the update of 5 March 2017, announcing that the RMS needed a dry dock to undertake repair work on her starboard propeller, a dry dock has now been secured for the RMS in Simonstown, South Africa, as from 29 March.
The RMS is due to arrive in Cape Town on 28 March 2017. With this in mind and the fact that the extent of the problem will not be fully known until the ship is in dry dock, it has become necessary to cancel Voyage 255 of the RMS’ schedule. Voyage 255 is the journey from Cape Town to St Helena, St Helena to Ascension Island (return) and then St Helena to Cape Town between 25 March and 12 April.
It is estimated that the work in dry dock will take between 10-12 days to complete, meaning that Voyage 256 would start from Cape Town on or about 14 April 2017.
The St Helena Resilience Forum Strategic Group has already met and will continue to meet daily to manage the situation.
SHG and St Helena Line recognise that this decision will have a significant impact on passenger travel, medical referrals and getting provisions to the Island. AWSML and local agents will be working with passengers booked to travel on Voyage 255 to rearrange their travel or offer them a full refund.
The St Helena Resilience Forum is also looking at alternative ways of transporting cargo and much needed provisions to the Island.
The RMS will still need to undertake her scheduled dry dock in August 2017.
Points of Contact are being established and further details will be released tomorrow.
St Helena Resilience Forum
8 March 2017
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