Seychelles’ Role in the Indian Ocean Trade Routes: A Forgotten History

A 455-square-kilometre landmass surrounded by an exclusive economic zone of 1.3 million square kilometres. That ratio — roughly 2,857 square kilometres of ocean for every square kilometre of land — tells the real story of Seychelles. The archipelago of 115 islands sits not at the edge of global trade but directly across its busiest arteries.

The standard travel narrative presents Seychelles as a beach destination, which it is. But the same geography that draws tourists — isolated islands scattered across the western Indian Ocean — has made it a quiet pivot point for commerce, security, and geopolitical competition for more than 250 years. The question this article explores is straightforward: how did a tiny archipelago become a node in the Indian Ocean trade system, and what does that history reveal about the forces shaping the region today? It is useful for travelers curious about the places they visit, for students of maritime history, and for anyone trying to understand why small island states matter far more than their land area suggests.

The pattern is clear: Seychelles has always been a node in someone else’s network. What changed was which network and on what terms.

The Geography That Made It Matter

Look at a map of the Indian Ocean and trace the route from the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, then down through the Mozambique Channel to the Cape of Good Hope. Seychelles sits just west of the main north-south shipping lanes and east of the Mozambique Channel. Vessels carrying energy from the Gulf, manufactured goods from Asia, and raw materials from Africa all pass within a few hundred nautical miles of its shores. The country’s EEZ — larger than the landmass of Ethiopia — gives it legal authority over an enormous stretch of that water.

That geography has attracted attention from every major power with Indian Ocean interests. China’s “String of Pearls” port network, India’s partnership-based presence, and the United States’ maritime security frameworks all intersect around Seychelles. During the country’s 50th independence anniversary in June 2026, the United States, China, Russia, India, the European Union, and the United Kingdom all sent formal messages. U.S. President Donald Trump praised Seychelles as a “key maritime security partner.” Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded a “steadfast and enduring friendship.” Indian President Droupadi Murmu emphasized Seychelles’ role in maintaining stability in the western Indian Ocean.

Note: Seychelles maintains simultaneous productive relationships with powers increasingly at odds globally — a strategy analysts call “diplomatic hedging.” The country refuses to become a proxy in great-power competition and leverages its geography to secure developmental support from multiple centers of power.

The Forgotten First Settlers and the Plantation Economy

The first documented Indians arrived in Seychelles in 1770 — the same year as the first permanent settlement. A small group landed as plantation workers alongside seven African slaves and 15 French colonists. They were among the earliest recorded inhabitants of the islands. Five Indians are listed among the first inhabitants. That origin story is rarely told in tourist brochures, but it shaped the islands’ relationship with trade from the beginning.

During the British colonial period, Seychelles was administered from the Bombay Presidency for a time. Regular shipping routes developed between India and the islands, carrying goods, commodities, and traders across the Indian Ocean. The Indian diaspora in Seychelles today numbers approximately 15,000 people — nearly 12 percent of the population of 133,000. The community includes about 6,000 people of Indian origin (primarily Gujarati and Tamil descent) and over 9,000 Indian nationals on employment permits. The Bank of Baroda has maintained a branch in Victoria since 1978. Bharti Airtel has invested over $25 million in Seychelles since 1998.

Modern bilateral trade between India and Seychelles remains modest — approximately $72.92 million for April 2024 to February 2025, with Indian exports of $68.64 million and imports of $8.69 million. India exports rice, processed food, cement, textiles, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and transport vehicles. Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland supply a substantial proportion of the buses operating across Seychelles’ public transportation network.

The historical link between India and Seychelles is not a marginal footnote. It is the foundation of the islands’ integration into Indian Ocean trade networks.

Port Victoria Today: The Niche Hub

Port Victoria handled 98,684 TEU in 2025 — an all-time record, up 25 percent from 2021. The port ranked 287th in the World Bank Container Port Performance Index. That volume is tiny compared to Colombo (7 million+ TEU) or Singapore (37 million+ TEU). But Port Victoria is not competing on volume. It competes on specialization and position.

The Seychelles Transshipment Company operates a dedicated free zone at Ile du Port designed for transshipment activities. Cargo entering the free zone qualifies for duty-free warehousing — goods can be stored, consolidated, deconsolidated, and re-exported without triggering local customs duties or taxes. This structure creates meaningful cost advantages for specific trade flows. For example, electronics from Singapore destined for multiple Indian Ocean markets can move through Victoria without duty, only attracting tariffs at the final domestic market. The free zone can reduce total landed cost by 5 to 15 percent compared to direct shipping with duty payments at each port.

The port serves as a regional redistribution hub for Indian Ocean island states. Feeder transit times from Port Victoria include Mauritius (Port Louis) in 4-5 days weekly, Mombasa in 3-5 days, Dar es Salaam in 4-6 days, Réunion (Le Port) in 2-3 days, Toamasina (Madagascar) in 3-4 days, and Moroni (Comoros) in 5-6 days. Transit times from Asian origins to Port Victoria range from 18-25 days from Singapore or Colombo, 12-18 days from the Mediterranean, and 8-12 days from Indian ports like Nhava Sheva and Mundra. The short transit from the Indian subcontinent is particularly notable — Victoria offers a transit time advantage over routing through Colombo or Singapore for exporters in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu reaching East Africa and western Indian Ocean markets.

The European Union fisheries protocol signed in July 2026 licenses up to 30 EU purse seiners and 8 longliners, with an annual reference tonnage of 55,000 tonnes. The EU contribution is €23 million over four years. That agreement will drive reefer container volumes and fish processing activity at Port Victoria.

The government launched a new public-private partnership model for the containerized and general cargo terminal. A pre-bidding meeting was held in June 2026, with 15 companies collecting request-for-proposal-qualification documents. Construction is expected to begin in January 2027.

The Great Power Chessboard

Seychelles’ trade role cannot be separated from its security role. The two are woven together in a way that defines the country’s position in the Indian Ocean system.

India has consistently supported Seychelles in strengthening its ability to monitor and protect its EEZ for over two decades. The Indian Navy maintains continuous mission-based deployment in the Gulf of Aden with anti-piracy escorts along international transit corridors. India has supplied Dornier maritime-patrol aircraft, interceptor boats, fast patrol vessels, and a Coastal Surveillance Radar System. Indian Navy ships periodically conduct hydrographic surveys of Seychelles’ ports and surrounding waters. The 11th edition of Exercise Lamitye — “friendship” in Seychellois Creole — was held in March 2026, elevated to tri-service level, and conducted twice a year.

India’s maritime doctrine has evolved from SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region, 2015) to MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, 2025). Seychelles is described as a “key partner” in that vision. The Special Economic Package of $175 million announced during President Herminie’s February 2026 visit to India — comprising $125 million in rupee-denominated Line of Credit and $50 million direct grant — supports digital public infrastructure, climate resilience, and renewable energy projects.

China also maintains a presence. The Chinese government extended a new grant of $14 million to Seychelles in 2025 for priority projects. Analysts note that China offers rapid development through centralized financing linked to state-owned enterprises with little local company involvement, creating a different kind of dependency than India’s partner-oriented approach. Seychelles has adopted a principle of “small state agency” — maximizing development by diversifying external support while preserving national interests.

The country chairs regional anti-piracy contact groups and was the first small island nation to establish a Supreme Court enabling prosecution of suspected pirates. The Regional Fusion and Law Enforcement Centre for Safety and Security at Sea ensures coordinated response to maritime threats.

Context and Comparison: Seychelles vs. Mauritius as Transshipment Hubs

Seychelles and Mauritius are often discussed together as Indian Ocean island states with similar profiles. Their trade roles diverge in important ways.

The key insight from logistics analysis is that Seychelles, Mauritius, and direct routing are complementary options within a broader Indian Ocean logistics strategy. The optimal choice depends on cargo profile, destination mix, time sensitivity, and cost parameters. Seychelles is not trying to compete with Mauritius on volume — it is positioning itself as a specialized niche hub for specific trade flows.

Questions Readers Ask

How much trade actually passes through Seychelles?

Port Victoria handled 98,684 TEU in 2025, an all-time record. The port is primarily a tuna transshipment hub — over 90 percent of purse seine catches licensed in the Seychelles EEZ are landed or transshipped there, averaging 353,664 tonnes annually.

What does Seychelles export and import?

The main exports are canned tuna and related fish products. Main imports from India — the largest trading partner — include rice, processed food, cement, textiles, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and transport vehicles. Bilateral trade with India was approximately $72.92 million in 2024-2025.

Why does India invest so heavily in Seychelles?

Seychelles sits astride key sea lines of communication in the western Indian Ocean, near the Mozambique Channel and routes carrying energy from the Gulf. Its EEZ of 1.3 million square kilometres gives it authority over a vast stretch of water. India views Seychelles as a trusted maritime partner and a strategic pillar of its Indian Ocean policy under the MAHASAGAR vision.

Is Seychelles aligned with India or China?

Both — deliberately. Seychelles maintains simultaneous productive relationships with India, China, the United States, the European Union, and others. Analysts describe this as diplomatic hedging: refusing to become a proxy in great-power competition while leveraging geography to secure developmental support from multiple centers of power.

Can tourists visit Port Victoria or the free zone?

Port Victoria is an active commercial port, not a tourist attraction. The free zone at Ile du Port is a logistics facility. Travelers interested in Seychelles’ maritime history can visit the Seychelles National Museum in Victoria, which includes exhibits on the islands’ trade and colonial history. The museum is located in the former Supreme Court building.

What Seychelles’ Trade History Reveals

Seychelles has never been a major commercial power. Its landmass is tiny. Its population is small. Its container volumes are modest. But the archipelago has been a node in global trade networks for over 250 years — first as a French plantation outpost, then as a British colonial dependency administered from Bombay, then as a tuna transshipment hub, and now as a strategic maritime partner in a multipolar Indian Ocean.

The constant across all these periods is geography. Seychelles sits where the shipping lanes converge. That fact has not changed since the first Indian plantation workers landed in 1770. What has changed is who controls the networks that pass through its waters — and the terms on which Seychelles engages with them. The country’s diplomatic hedging strategy, its free zone at Ile du Port, and its partnerships with India, China, and the European Union are all contemporary expressions of a very old reality: small islands sitting at the crossroads of large powers must navigate carefully or be navigated over.

The forgotten history of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean trade routes is not really forgotten — it is just rarely told. It is a story about position, persistence, and the quiet leverage that geography provides to those who understand how to use it.

For more on Seychelles’ relationship with the sea, read Seychelles Maritime Heritage: Exploring the Connection Between Islands and the Sea.

Sources and further reading

BCorp Worldwide. “Indian Ocean Trade Corridors 2026.” 2026. 🔗

BCorp Worldwide. “Seychelles Transshipment Hub: Indian Ocean Logistics 2026.” 2026. 🔗

Firstpost. “Modi in Seychelles: Why This Tiny Island Country in Africa Is a Strategic Giant for India.” 2026. 🔗

Cavalier. “Vision MAHASAGAR: India-Seychelles and the Indian Ocean Region.” 2026. 🔗

Related reading on IslandHopperGuides

Seychelles’ Untold Story: Examining Colonial Legacies and Independence — Traces the political journey from French and British rule to independence in 1976.

Moutya Rhythms: Experiencing the Passion and History of Seychelles’ Dance — Explores the Creole dance tradition that emerged from the plantation era.

The Seychelles Tea Story: From Plantation to Cup, A Cultural Sip — Examines how tea cultivation connected Seychelles to broader Indian Ocean trade networks.