Second Reading THE MAURITIUS HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES BILL (NO. XI OF 2026) Order for Second Reading read.

Yes, hon. Minister! (3.40 p.m.)

Thank you, Madam. Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the Mauritius Hydrographic Services Bill (No. XI of 2026) be read a second time. Madam Speaker, this is a short Bill, 17 clauses and five parts, yet it addresses one of the oldest responsibilities a maritime nation owes. The duty to know, to measure, to publish the truth about its own waters. For an Island State whose land area is 2040 km2, but whose maritime jurisdiction extends over some 2.3 million km2 of the Indian Ocean, that duty is a foundational attribute of sovereignty. Every chart used by a vessel entering Port Louis, every depth sounding of Rodrigues, every survey line run over the Saya de Malha Bank is a sovereign act. It says, this water is Mauritian, and Mauritius is answerable for its safety, its science, its commerce. Until today, that Act has been carried out by a small but dedicated hydrographic unit of my Ministry, operating under administrative practice rather than statute. This Bill at last gives that work the legal foundation it has always deserved. Madam Speaker, three converging realities have made this Bill urgent. First, Legal, Mauritius is a State party to UNCLOS and to SOLAS. Chapter 5, Regulation 9 of SOLAS obliges every contracting Government to arrange for the collection of hydrographic data and the publication of nautical information. We have honoured that obligation by administrative practice. This Bill translates that practice into law. La deuxième réalité, Madame la présidente, est d'ordre géographique. Elle est décisive. Le 22 mai 2025, la République de Maurice et le Royaume-Uni ont conclu l'accord sur l'archipel des Chagos par lequel, le Royaume-Uni reconnaît la souveraineté pleine et entière de Maurice sur l'ensemble de l'archipel. À cela s'ajoute notre soumission à la Commission des limites du plateau continental concernant la région de Rodrigues, environ 183,000 km² au- delà de la ligne des 200 milles marins, ainsi que la zone de cogestion conjointe convenue avec la République de Seychelles et sur le plateau des Mascareignes. L'espace maritime placé sous notre souveraineté figure désormais parmi les plus vastes de tous les petits états insulaires de l'océan Indien. Or, Madame la présidente, on ne gouverne pas ce que l'on n'a pas mesuré. On ne défend pas ce qu'on n'a pas cartographié. On n'exploite pas légitimement ce qu'on n’a pas relevé. Ce projet de loi nous donne précisément l'instrument statutaire pour faire les trois. The third, Madam Speaker, is economic. Four submarine telecommunication cables SAFE, LION/LION 2, MARS and T3, land on our shores, carrying more than 98% of our international data traffic. Port Louis handles the vast majority of our external trade. Our Exclusive Economic Zone contains significant tuna fisheries, prospective offshore renewable energy sites, and some of the most ecologically important coral ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean. Each one of those interests, Madam Speaker, depends on reliable hydrographic knowledge. I would add a fourth reality. Mauritian industry has been asking for this clarity. Marine consultancies, port engineering firms, cable operators, cruise liners, insurers, and offshore developers have all indicated that the absence of clear statutory framework is a friction cost in their operations. This Bill removes that friction. Madam Speaker, this legislation confers five clear advantages on the Republic. First, data sovereignty in law, clause 12 declares that all hydrographic data collected within our maritime zone shall be deemed the property of the State. When a foreign research vessel surveys our seabed, when a private consultancy maps a reef, when a cable lay-up contractor charts a corridor across the continental shelf, the resulting data does not leave Mauritius as a commercial byproduct. It vests in the Republic. It becomes national heritage. This aligns us with Norway, France, Australia, and Canada and moves us decisively beyond the colonial era arrangements under which our waters were surveyed and the data retained by others. Second, full charting authority over the Chagos Archipelago. I say again, full charting authority over the Chagos Archipelago and the extended shelf. Following the 2025 agreement, the primary right to publish official nautical charts of the archipelago passes in coordination with the United Kingdom hydrographic office, to Mauritius. Without this Bill, we would be a sovereign without a cartographer. Third, explicit compliance with SOLAS, UNCLOS, and the standards of IHO, IALA, and IMO, all named in Clause 5. Mauritius will discharge its international obligations not by administrative circular, but by Act of Parliament. A distinction material to every ship owner, every classification society and every marine insurer. Fourth, a single authoritative national voice. Clause 6 creates the office of the Chief Hydrographer, who will be the single point of contact with the IHO, with foreign hydrographic officers, and with ships' masters reporting charts errors in our waters. Fifth, reinforcement of our regional leadership. Mauritius currently holds the Vice Chair of the Southern African and Islands Hydrographic Commission of the IHO. The Bill signals to that community that we intend to hold that seat with the full authority of the statute behind us. Madam Speaker, sovereignty is the frame within which lies tangible economic opportunity. I highlight five streams of value. First, recurring revenue from electronic navigational charts. Every SOLAS class vessel is required to carry digital charts, distributed through the IHO regional ENC coordinating centres, and licensed on a paid basis. Once established with statutory chart issuing authority, Mauritius becomes a producer nation, and every ENC cell covering our waters, represents a recurring royalty to the Republic. Second, a more competitive Mauritius. Modern, up-to-date, large-scale charts reduce insurance, insurance premium, permit deeper draft vessels to call with confidence and shorten pilotage times. Third, derisking of the submarine cable industry. Clause 9 establishes a licensing regime for route surveys, deposits the resulting bathymetry with the national custodian and protects the corridors from unauthorised interference. For cable operators, this is not a burden, it is regulatory certainty. Fourth, a regulated market for private hydrographic surveys. Clause 8 explicitly provides for private persons to conduct surveys subject to authorisation. It creates a market with rules, and markets with rules attract investment. Fifth, is the foundation for offshore energy, climate resilience, and marine tourism. You cannot site an offshore wind turbine without knowing the seabed. You cannot expand a fishery sustainability without knowing its habitat. You cannot defend a coastline against sea level rise without repeat bathymétrie. The Bill creates the institution that will hold, curate, and release the data on which every one of these industries depends. Madam Speaker, I would add that the hydrographic data assembled by the MHS will constitute the foundational geospatial layer for any future scientific or economic assessment of our seabed. From marine spatial planning to fisheries habitat mapping to the eventual evaluation of seabed resources. Yes, seabed resources. Whatever choices future Governments may make in those domains, they will make them on the basis of Mauritian data, held in Mauritian custody under Mauritian law. Clause 1, Madam Speaker, provides the short title. Allow me to run through the clauses very briefly. Clause 2 provides the interpretations. Hydrographic data is defined broadly. Nautical chart includes both paper charts and electronic navigational charts. The definitions are drawn from IHO publications so that Mauritian law speaks the same technical language as the international community. Madam Speaker, Clause 3 first establishes the MHS as a department of my Ministry. Clause 4 sets out its objects. Clause 5 catalogues its functions, the collection of hydrographic data, the production, publication and updating of nautical charts, the maintenance of uniformity with IHO standards, the assurance that surveys meet established benchmarks, and the representation of Mauritius in international hydrographic fora. Administration – Clauses 6 and 7. Clause 6 establishes the office of the Chief Hydrographer, a public officer with technical qualifications recognised by the IHO. Clause 7 provides for staff drawn from officers of my Ministry. This is a lean structure. No parastatal, no board with per diems. This is for Clauses 8 to 13, the operative heart of the Bill. Clause 8 requires authorisation for any non-MHS hydrographic survey, a quality assurance mechanism, not a barrier to entry. Clause 9 sets the conditions of authorisation referenced to IHO Special Publication S-44. Clause 10 reserves the issuance of official charts to the MHS. Clause 11 confers carefully circumscribed power of entry onto adjacent land, preserving any right to compensation. Clause 12 vests all hydrographic data in the State. Clause 13 imposes confidentiality obligations subject to disclosure only with written authorisation. Clause 14 establishes the offences. Producing an unofficial chart purporting to be official, refusing to submit data or falsifying hydrographic data, each attracts a fine up to Rs500,000 and imprisonment up to 5 years. Some Members may consider those penalties severe. They are calibrated to the gravity of the harm. A false chart is not a paperwork error. It is a document that can sink a ship. Clause 15 confers regulation-making power on the Minister. Clause 16 provides seamless transition. The existing Hydrographic Unit is deemed to be the MHS and it its head becomes the Chief Hydrographer. Clause 17 provides for commencement by proclamation, which I intend, within 90 days, to obtain assent as quick as possible. As far as financial implications, Madam Speaker, the Bill carries no immediate additional cost. Staff officers and equipment of the existing unit are carried forward. Regulations under Clause 15 will introduce a schedule of fees expected to place MHS on a partial cost recovery footing. Capital investment will be brought before this House in the ordinary budgetary way. The Ministry of Finance has confirmed the provisions of this Bill are within existing votes for the current financial year. Mauritius, now, joins a movement of maritime states, Madam Speaker, including the Bahamas, recognised in 2026 as the newest IHO member, and more recently Gambia, that have placed their hydrographic services on a statutory footing. I would like to record the constructive engagement of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office in preparing for the orderly transition of charting responsibilities in the Chagos Archipelago, and the support of the IHO Secretariat in Monaco and of our partners in the SAIHC, in particular the South African Navy Hydrographic Office. Madame la présidente, je tiens à souligner tout particulièrement dans la langue qui convient deux partenaires francophones dont l'appui a été constant. À la République française et à son Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine, le Shom, avec lequel nous partageons les responsabilités qui s'attachent aux eaux environnant la Réunion, j'exprime la gratitude sincère du gouvernement mauricien pour la qualité d'une coopération technique et scientifique qui s'inscrit dans la durée. À la République des Seychelles, avec laquelle nous administrons conjointement la zone de gestion conjointe sur le plateau des Mascareignes – I would have done that in Kreol, but I will keep that for another time –, j'adresse également nos sincères remerciements pour un partenariat exemplaire de ce que peuvent accomplir des États insulaires unis par la géographie, par l'histoire et par une même volonté d'affirmer leur droit sur l'océan qui les entoure. Madam Speaker, it is only right that I should pay a particular tribute to the Government of the Republic of India. The partnership between Mauritius and India in the maritime domain is longstanding, deep and in the specific field of hydrography, a very direct consequence to the Bill now before this House. The Indian Naval Hydrographic Department of Dehradun has, over many years, extended to Mauritius practical assistance of a kind that only a fellow Indian Ocean State with world class hydrographic capacity could offer – • joint hydrographic surveys in our waters; • the training of Mauritian officers at the National Institute of Hydrography; • capacity building missions conducted by Indian survey ships, and • the sharing of technical expertise in chart production, tidal analysis and modern survey methodology. I place on the record of this House the sincere gratitude of the Government of Mauritius to the Government of India for its continued support and close collaboration in the field of hydrography. The institution which this Bill establishes will, I have no doubt, deepen that partnership further. Madam Speaker, before I conclude, I owe a number of tributes closer to home. Je tiens en premier lieu à exprimer ma profonde gratitude au très honorable Premier ministre, dont la conviction personnelle que Maurice doit parler pour ses propres eaux a porté cette législation du concept jusqu'à cette Assemblée. Ce projet de loi n'existerait pas sous cette forme sans son leadership constant, sans son orientation stratégique au lendemain de l'accord sur les Chagos de mai 2025, et sans sa vision claire d'une île Maurice pleinement maritime, non pas simplement un État qui se trouve être une île. J'étends cette gratitude à l'ensemble des officiers du bureau du Premier ministre dont la coordination diligente, à travers l'appareil gouvernemental, a permis à cet instrument d'arriver devant les membres de cette Chambre bien rédigé, dûment concerté et prêt à être adopté. I wish also to record my sincere thanks to the officers of my Ministry who have been clairement les chevilles ouvrières of this piece of a well drafted legislation. I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to the hon. Attorney General and to all the officers of the Attorney General's Office. The technical drafting of a Bill that must harmonise the domestic law with UNCLOS, SOLAS and the standards of the IHO, IALA and IMO while also giving proper effect to the charting implications of the 2025 Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago is a demanding exercise. The Bill, therefore, before the House, is a testament to their skills, their patience and their care for the constitutional integrity of the Mauritian legislations. My thanks extend also to the Mauritius Ports Authority, the National Coast Guard, the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping – my colleague who is here –, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is also acting for today, and to industrial representatives, including the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industries Maritime Committee. Madam Speaker, this Bill does four things in a single coherent legal act – (i) it establishes an institution; (ii) it vests our hydrographic data in the Republic; (iii) it creates a regulated market for surveys and charts, and (iv) it positions Mauritius to assume full responsibilities and to reap the full benefits of sovereignty over one of the largest maritime jurisdictions in the Indian Ocean. It is a modest Bill in its length. It is an ambitious Bill in its consequences. It says to our seafarers: Your safety is a matter of law. It says to our industries: Your operating environment is one of legal certainty. It says to our neighbours in the Indian Ocean: Mauritius will hold its place at the regional table. Ce projet de loi envoie un message clair, Madame la présidente, à la communauté internationale tout entière : cette République prend au sérieux les obligations de la souveraineté sur le vaste espace maritime que lui confèrent la géographie, le droit des traités et la reconnaissance récente de ses droits sur l'archipel des Chagos. Pour un pays de la mer, un pays dont le destin a toujours été lié à l'océan qui l'entoure, il est difficile d'imaginer un texte de loi plus approprié à présenter devant cette Assemblée. Madame la présidente, I commend the Bill to the House, and I beg to move that it be read a second time. The Deputy Prime Minister rose and seconded.

Yes, Mr Baboolall! (4.00 p.m.)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Somewhere tonight, in our 2.3 million km2 Exclusive Economic Zone, 40 times the size of our land mass, a fishing boat, a cargo vessel, or a cruise ship is trusting a chart to tell its captain where the reef ends and safe water begins. That chart did not draw itself. It was measured, sounded, surveyed and verified, often with the cooperation of partners such as the Indian Navy, whose survey ships have visited our waters some 15 times since 2006, producing 12 nautical charts and 14 electronic navigational charts our seafarers rely on today. The novelist Herman Melville once wrote that “it is not down on any map; true places never are”. That may be true of the poet's imagination, Madam Speaker, but it cannot be true of the mariner's chart. Every reef, every safe passage in our waters must be down on a map precisely because lives depend on it. That is the quiet promise behind this Bill. This House does not often debate hydrography but our fishing industry, our tourism sector, our blue economy ambitions and the safety of every vessel leaving Port Louis Harbour all depend on someone, somewhere, having correctly measured the water beneath the keel. That is what this Bill is really about. Water, safety, sovereignty and the unglamorous work of knowing what lies beneath our sea. Madam Speaker, I speak on this Bill also as someone for whom water carries a meaning deeper than measurement. As a Mauritian of Hindu faith, I was raised to see water as sacred. We venerate Ganga Maa, Mother Ganges, as the source of life itself and here, at Grand Bassin, Ganga Talao, our community gathers each year believing those waters flow in a spirit home to her. If our faith teaches us to hold water sacred, this House owes no less a duty to protect the waters that sustain every citizen of this Republic. Be it Hindu, Christian, Muslim and all other who call this island home. I rise, Madam Speaker, in support of the principle of this Bill. It takes a unit that has served us capably since 2013, a finalist for the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management's Innovation Award and it gives it at last the statutory backbone it has deserved for over a decade. An island nation with blue economy ambitions and sovereignty over an EEZ 40 times its landmass cannot leave the instrument that maps that sovereignty as an administrative footnote. This Bill corrects that anomaly and for that principle, the hon. Minister deserves credit. Rachel Carson wrote simply: “the sea lies all about us”. It lies about Mauritius too. Not as a boundary that isolates us, but as the very reason this is small island nation matters on the world stage. A well-governed sea is our inheritance and our opportunity. Let me be plain, Madam Speaker, about what this Bill gets right and what it leaves undone. Before I turn to my specific proposals, on the credit side, it gives our hydrographic work at long last a proper statutory home, matching the seriousness the ocean economy deserves. It settles that hydrographic data collected in our waters belongs to the State of Mauritius and it aligns us formally with international standards set by the International Hydrographic Organisation, the International Maritime Organisation, and the International Organisation for Marine Aids to Navigation and with our obligations under the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. These are not small achievements, and I do not pretend otherwise. But on the debit side, this Bill, as drafted, has some gaps. It creates a body with significant coercive power to enter private land, demand data, and prosecute, yet, builds it no duty to report annually to this House. It grants broad powers of entry with no safeguards of notice or compensation; defines the very land it touches so broadly it could sweep in leased pas géométriques and private beachfront concessions and sets the same five-year maximum penalty for a minor administrative slip as for a deliberate falsification of navigational data. A Bill can be right in its ambition and still incomplete in its safeguard. This one, I submit, is exactly that. This House has itself been reminded through the Director of Audit's own report that good intentions poorly monitored produce weak outcomes. Let us not allow this Bill to become a footnote in some future Audit Report. So let me raise five matters with the hon. Minister – not to wreck this Bill, but to strengthen it. Madame la présidente, cette Assemblée n'a pas besoin qu'on le lui rappelle deux fois. Il y a plus de deux siècles au large de Poudre d'Or, le naufrage du Saint-Géran a donné naissance à l'un des récits les plus poignants de notre île. Paul et Virginie, une tragédie si profondément ancrée dans notre mémoire collective que des générations de Mauriciens ont grandi en pleurant un naufrage survenu bien avant la naissance de leur arrière, arrière grands- parents. Et de mémoire vivante, en juillet 2020, le Wakashio s'est échoué sur le récif de la Pointe d'Esny, déversant 1000 tonnes de fuel dans le lagon de Blue Bay, gravant dans la mémoire de cette génération ce que le Saint-Géran avait gravé dans celle d'une autre. Deux naufrages séparés de plus de 250 ans sur les récifs d'une même île. Les choses ont-elles vraiment changé entre les deux ? This Bill, if we get it right, is part of how we answer, yes. A properly accountable Mauritius Hydrographic Services coordinating closely with our environmental agencies is how we prevent the next Wakashio. I would ask the hon. Minister whether clause 4 should explicitly require coordination with the Ministry of Environment, not merely relevant maritime safety regulators in identifying high-risk reef zones. Protecting our coastline is not only about navigation. It is about the coral, the mangroves, and the marine life, our identity as an island nation depends upon. My first point concerns clause 8. The Bill rightly declares that hydrographic data collected in our waters shall be deemed to be the property of the State of Mauritius. Data is the new coastline, Madam Speaker. Whoever holds it, in some real sense, holds the maps of our sovereignty but I ask the hon. Minister plainly, what happens practically to the decades of survey cooperation already underway with Government of India, our principal chart producing partner? Will that cooperation which has given us 12 nautical charts and 14 electronical navigational charts to date, now require written authorisation under clause 8, subsection 2? I ask the Minister to confirm that this Bill preserves and does not inadvertently disrupt our hydrographic cooperation with India. My second point is clause 10, “Powers of entry”. This Bill allows an officer of the MHS to enter, and I quote – “(…) any plot of land to perform such acts as may be necessary (…)” at all reasonable times. I do not dispute that survey works sometimes require access to private land. This clause contains no requirement of prior notice, no reference to compensation for damage caused, and no defined limit on frequency or duration. A citizen of Montagne Blanche, a planter in Grand River South East, a family with a modest beachfront plot passed down through generations, they deserve to know at reasonable times, meaning more than an individual officer's discretion on any given morning. I urge the hon. Minister to accept an amendment at Committee stage, inserting a clear notice and compensation framework. My third point concerns clause 8, the power of the Minister over the Chief Hydrographer. These powers as drafted abroad, the Minister may issue directions of general character, and the Chief Hydrographer shall comply. I do not begrudge ministerial oversight, that is proper in any Ministry but this Bill, unlike a number of others this House has passed, contains no requirement whatsoever for an annual report to be tabled before this Assembly. I ask the hon. Minister whether he would accept, even at this late stage, an amendment requiring the Chief Hydrographer's annual report to be laid formally on the Table of this House. Sovereignty without accountability to this Chamber, Madam Speaker, is only half a sovereignty. My fourth point is on clause 14, the offenses. A general contravention of this Act carries up to five years of imprisonment. I do not take breaches of maritime data security lightly but that same exposure applies to minor technical non-compliance under the catch-all wording. I ask the hon. Minister to consider proportionate tiers of penalty at Committee Stage. My fifth and final point, Madam Speaker, clause 2 defines ‘plot of land’ simply as delimited part of land or water. A definition broad enough to reach leased, Pas Géométriques, and private beachfront concession. Was this breadth intentional? And what protections exist for those whose land now falls within its reach? Madam Speaker, none of these five points are raised to obstruct this Bill. They are raised because a Bill establishing sovereignty over our waters should not itself contain ambiguity over the rights of our people on land; no uncertainty over a hydrographic partnership with India, that has served this nation for two decades. This Bill protects our waters on paper. Let us work together today to make sure it protects our people and our partnerships in practice. Madam Speaker, I represent Constituency No. 10, Montagne Blanche, Grand River South East, a Constituency with a long coastline, fishing communities who have worked these waters for generations, and families whose land runs down the shoreline, this Bill concerns itself with directly. When I return to my constituents this week, they will not ask me about clause 8 or clause 14 by number. They will ask me one simple question; does this new law protect our sea without threatening our land? With the amendments I have proposed today on continuity with India, on notice and on compensation for entry, on annual accountability to this House, on proportionate penalties, and on the definition of the very land this Bill may touch, I believe, Madam Speaker, the answer can be yes. There is an old maritime saying attributed to John A. Shedd – “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” This Bill was not was not built to sit safely in harbor and examined. It was built to sail, and it is this House’s duty today to make sure it is seaworthy. Let this House be remembered not for how quickly it passed the Bill today, but for how carefully it did so because somewhere tonight, in our 2.3 million square kilometres of ocean, a captain is trusting a chart drawn by officers of this State. Let this House be equally worthy of the trust our own citizens place in us to chart their rights on land as carefully and as faithfully as we chart our waters at sea. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. You were well within time. Hon. François! (4.15 p.m.)

Merci, Madame la présidente. D'abord en ce 14 juillet qui m'offre l'opportunité de féliciter chaleureusement le peuple français à l'occasion de leur fête nationale, je transmets notre gratitude, et nos vœux de paix, de progrès et de prospérité à la France, surtout pour son soutien apporté à Rodrigues, notamment dans le secteur de l'eau. Bonne fête et aussi bon anniversaire au Premier ministre, Dr. Ramgoolam. Madam speaker now, I shall provide a brief overview as a graduate Surveyor Technician on this technical Bill presented by hon. Mohamed: the Mauritius Hydrographic Services Bill (No. XI of 2026), whom I congratulate. The Bill aims to establish Mauritius hydrographic services, which will, in relation to nautical chart production, be responsible for – (a) national custody and safekeeping of hydrographic data; (b) regulating hydrographic surveys and charting within Mauritius’s maritime zones, and (c) regulating hydrographic data exchange, access control, and sharing. This is a fascinating and important subject: hydrography. Luigi Sinapi, International Hydrography Organisation’s Director, stated – “Hydrography and derived products open up new opportunities in the maritime sectors, highlighting how important it is to invest in the hydrography sector to provide a competitive advantage in the maritime domain.” Rightly highlighted by hon. Mohamed. Hydrography is about professional, systematic surveying of the unknown and the invisible collecting data on the sea depth, seabed shape, tides, currents, and protecting the marine environment, coastal-zone planning, and national infrastructure development. The future of navigation is digital. Hydrographers worldwide recognise that the future is blue and beneath the sea, vital for us as an island nation. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) encourages the development and implementation of e-navigation to enhance berth-to- berth navigation using Electronic Chart Display and Information system with Electronic Navigational Charts. As interpreted in this Bill, hydrographic data covers the physical features of Mauritius’s maritime zones, including coastal areas – very important – rivers – this morning I heard hon. Assirvaden talking about Mare aux Vacoas reservoir, tides, navigational features. And here, I have to mention the working relation with Rodrigues should be clearly defined. This year, Madam Speaker, the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) celebrated world hydrography day with the theme “transforming how ocean data is shared,” recognised the importance of digital technologies and data interoperability in maritime and ocean sectors. Surely, our Republic is an Ocean State, with its EEZ as defined, righty said so by hon. Mohamed and especially with the 183 km² extension around Rodrigues, essential for our sustainable maritime development. Madam Speaker, today much of our nautical chart production is currently undertaken by India, the chart-producing nation for Mauritius, with established protocols for selling navigational products, and to date, the Indian National Hydrographic Office has produced 12 paper navigational charts and 14 electronic navigational charts: 7 for Mauritius, 3 for Rodrigues, and 2 for Agalega. Madam Speaker, from a security perspective, the Indian Ocean is emerging as a strategic hub in a global power dynamic, with Indian engagement, the Diego Garcia base, and growing Chinese presence among African coastal states. This Bill will reinforce security needs and the control of our seabed resources, with Mauritius playing a key strategic role in the geopolitical future, with our sovereignty claim on Chagos. Madam speaker, we are versed in land spatial planning from a technical perspective and today, we are moving towards marine spatial planning for future infrastructure, maritime operations, sustainable management of marine ecosystems, fisheries, and environmental protection. Clause 4 (f) of the Bill authorises hydrographic surveys in Mauritius and the production, publication, distribution, and updating of official nautical charts for use in our maritime zones. The UN SDG 14 (life below water) emphasises sustainable use and conservation of oceans requires effective strategies to combat impacts such as overfishing, ocean acidification, coastal eutrophication, and erosion. This is part of extension of this Bill. We must develop sustainable projects and innovative solutions related to climate change, food security, safe maritime transport, and ocean use. Surely, hon. Dr. Boolell will elaborate further on that. In line with blue economy vision and growth, Mauritius will need to recruit more hydrographers or hydrographic surveyors to deepen our understanding of our seas for wider economic and social benefits. From an environmental perspective, Madam Speaker, climate change induces sea-level rise and environmental damages demand urgent attention. Our NDC presented by hon. Bhagwan, NDC 3.0, highlights the impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities associated with climate change. As per our NDC, sea-level rise is accelerating beach erosion, beachfront loss, and coastal infrastructure damage, with more than 37 km, that is 17.6% of our coastal line being affected. I note that beach widths have shrunk by up to 20 metres in recent decades. This is where hydrography and hydrographic data will be important. Therefore, as a key information producer, we have to adapt to prevent damage, to monitor coastal erosion and guide coastal public works in our Republic. Mauritius has initiated – very important – a carbon-sink enhancement program, aiming to carry out a blue- carbon inventory in our EEZ by 2035, which will require certainly hydrographic Data. Today, we do not have much data. Hon. Bhagwan is laughing! Certainly, you will hopefully elaborate on that, will you not? Madam Speaker, Rodrigues has a rich hydrographic history with surveys dating back to late 18th and 19th centuries conducted by colonial British Royal Navy personnel, Bonne in 1780, Lieutnant Russel in 1822 and Surveyor Shearwater in 1874. Our hydrographic publication was done through a hydrographic map in February 1876 by British Navy Hydrographer Evans. Rodrigues today requires more hydrographic data around its waters, especially port of Port Mathurin. This Bill will benefit beyond navigation for Rodrigues. Rodrigues faces, as I said, shoreline erosion, seagrass monitoring needs, and environmental concerns requiring hydrographic surveys. Hydrographic information is also needed to monitor brine discharge from desalination plants and siltation of our channels within our lagoon for local navigation. Locally, Madam Speaker, safeguarding marine life and monitoring changes in sea routes near Rodrigues’ shores are crucial. Rodrigues Hydrographic Unit should be established, manned by local surveyors, hon. Minister, who can receive further training, any training, to share marine information with local authorities and bodies also like the National Innovation Research Council (NIRC), the Meteorological Services, and the Mauritius Port Authority, amongst others. There is need for what I call a coordinated, connected ocean-information ecosystem with Rodrigues and Mauritius as per this Bill. Imagine a civil engineer in Rodrigues who wants to obtain real-time data from the meteo services for current waves near Port Mathurin. He has to fetch this information from Vacoas Meteorological Station. Today, with the hydrography department or unit being established by the Ministry, I believe this professional, if he wants to have data, he has to fetch it from Ebène. So, ocean and maritime data must integrate into what I call a single digital ecosystem through a multidimensional approach. Madam Speaker, the future development of Port Mathurin, as projected by its master plan, is strategic for Mauritius due to its geographical and geopolitical location. Port Mathurin requires a larger port area as trends show bigger ships, increased commercial pressure, and vessel size growth. The last maintenance dredging of the main channel and berth area of Port Mathurin was done in 1990. However, it has been done through the annex channel in 2009. My question is: what is the current hydrographic situation of the Port Mathurin channel today? Most notably, the manoeuvrability of large ships within the confined waters of the port of Port Mathurin and its capacity limits is a problem. Madam Speaker, Rodrigues hosts one of the Republic’s most significant community- based marine conservation initiatives, the South East Marine Protected Area (SEMPA), covering 43 square kilometres to protect marine biodiversity and support sustainable co- management of coastal resources. In the context of its autonomy, there is a need to create a Rodrigues Hydrographic Unit, staffed by the local surveyors, as I said, who can thereafter receive hydrographic training. I repeat that. Pressing hydrographic survey requirements for Rodrigues and SEMPA include – (i) within the Rodrigues lagoon: improve navigability through bathymetric data bases and sedimentation characterisation in navigable channels within the lagoon. I am looking at local perspective; (ii) monitoring of current parameters; (iii) fishing banks of banc de l’Est – this is very important for our fishers – and Hawkins bank for effective management and exploitation. We need to have accurate data thereat. The EEZ and maritime zone around Rodrigues, from an economic perspective, are fundamental assets for our Republic. We must collect maximum marine information therefrom for the future. Madam Speaker, let me conclude, as I said, I would be looking at the technical aspect. The maritime and ocean sectors are undergoing digital transformation. This Bill is laying the foundation for safer navigation, more efficient operations, better environmental stewardship, and informed decision-making. In light of what I have said, I reiterate my support for the Mauritius Hydrographic Services Bill and look forward for further elaboration and debate, especially on our Chagos Agreement. Madam Speaker, that will be my contribution. I thank you.

Thank you! Yes, hon. Ms Collet!

Madam Speaker, I move that the debate be now adjourned. Mr Venkatasami rose and seconded. Question put and agreed to. Debate adjourned accordingly.