Governor joins 'final' RMS St Helena voyage to Tristan
Last RMS ST Helena voyage to Tristan da Cunha
Her Excellency Lisa Phillips, Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is on board RMS St Helena as the vessel makes its final voyage to Tristan da Cunha, departing Cape Town on Friday 29th December 2017. This will be her first visit to Tristan as Governor, but she visited the island as Governor-Designate in April 2016, prior to arriving on St Helena to be sworn in as Governor on 25th April 2016.
RMS St Helena Voyage 267 (the pentultimate voyage of the RMS St Helena prior to the ship's de-commissioning the following month), was re-scheduled to include a final visit to Tristan da Cunha after it was known that scheduled passenger flights to St Helena would commence from October 2017.
The vessel is expected to arrive at Tristan on Wednesday 3rd January for a three day stay, departing on Friday 5th and then continuing to St Helena. It is hoped that good weather will allow passengers to come ashore on arrival and have the opportunity to stay on the island for two nights to enjoy a packed programme of planned events.
Unfortunately, a similar 3-day visit in April 2016 was cut down to only a few hours ashore as high seas prevented the programme going ahead.
Central to the programme will be a meeting of Tristan Island Council for the Governor to take part in important discussions about future plans for the island. This will include plans for Tristan to develop a marine protection zone under the UK's 'Blue Belt' programme, as well as island infrastructure and economy matters.