Description:
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) since February 2007. They belong to France and the Reunion Commissioner has jurisdiction over these uninhabited islands.
Three of the islands - the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova and Europa - and the Bassas da India atoll, lie in the Mozambique Channel west of Madagascar, while the fourth island, Tromelin, lies about 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Madagascar. Also in the Mozambique Channel is the Banc du Geyser, a reef under French control claimed by Madagascar since 1976. France and Comoros view the Banc du Geyser as part of the Glorioso Islands.
A permit is required for visiting yachts who wish to visit these islands and should be applied for up to 2 months in advance of your visit. Short stays of up to a few days are tolerated however without a permit, if in transit to Mayotte.
Position:
22° 19.72'S, 40° 22.21'E (Europa island)
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Posted on behalf of Anton Kosi, of SY Mala – 10 November 2015:
We just left Juan de Nova, another French island in the Mozambique channel. We arrived, anchored, went swimming and were contacted by the French military over the VHF (there is a meteorological and military post on the island).
They instructed us to leave as soon as we had solved the reason for stopping there. Whilst we did not have any “good reason” on a beautifully sunny and perfectly calm day, we did not argue and left Juan de Nova before dark. So, generally, no “tourists” are welcome on the island.
Posted on behalf of Anton Kosi of S/Y Mala:
We stopped at the Glorieuse islands for two nights while in transit from Seychelles to Mayotte. French scientists on a large sailing boat who were there at the same time told us on the third day of our stay that a permit is needed to visit the islands, but short stays of a few days are tolerated without a permit if in transit to Mayotte.
No French police approached us. They are located on Glorieuse island while the main anchorage is close to Ile du Lys. And, indeed this is a wonderful place under and over the water. My suggestion to everybody sailing close to the islands is to stop there at least for a day or two.
We (Pakia tea) just thought we’d give it a chance and went to Glorioso without a permit. We anchored SW of Ile du Lys, stunning Lagoon, amazing Birdlife. Scientists from Reunion who visited the Island at the same time asked us to stay on the beach and not to venture inland to not disturb the animals, as it is a strict nature reserve.
On the second day of our stay, a RIB with young French Soldiers and a Police Officer came alongside and asked for our permit. Since we didn’t have one he said we should leave immediately.
We asked the Police Officer to come on board and explained that we originally hadn’t planned to visit this place, but that we were Biologists and very curious about the state of the local reefs – especially in the light of the current major bleaching event. He was friendly and understanding, we were allowed to stay one more night but had to leave early the next day.
For anyone who would like to visit this fantastic place in the future, permits can be obtained at Reunion, from TAAF.
Please respect the nature reserve – strictly no fishing and taking of wildlife!
From stormy Richards Bay 🙂
Tom