The MT Ardberg is scheduled to arrive at St Helena on Saturday, 19 July 2025, at 19:00 and anchor in James Bay. Weather permitting on Sunday, 20 July 2025 at sunrise, MT Ardberg will berth alongside Rupert’s Jetty, and as soon as the clearance is completed bunkering operations will commence.
The public are therefore advised that the whole of lower Rupert’s, including the beach area, will be closed to the public from 06:00 Sunday, 20 July 2025 until the bunkering of fuel is completed. Due to the floating pipeline, all mariners are advised that Rupert’s Bay will also be closed.
These areas will be strictly prohibited and is limited only to those persons who have made prior arrangements for authorisation from Port Control.
The public are thanked in advance for their patience and co-operation.
HM Customs will be closed on Tuesday, 15 July 2025.
Jamestown Wharf will have restricted access due to Port Control moving containers. Whilst HM Customs staff will be in the office to answer queries, the public will not be able to access the wharf to collect goods during this time.
Normal operations will resume from 09:00 on Wednesday, 16 July 2025.
HM Customs would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and the public are thanked in advance for their understanding and cooperation.
The public are advised that the road from Seales Corner to Connect St Helena Ltd will be temporarily closed on Friday, 11 July 2025 from 09:30 to 11:30.
This closure is required to facilitate crane operations for the removal of large UPS systems from Connect, Carnarvon Court.
Appropriate signage will be in place.
The public are thanked in advance for their support and cooperation.
Following the reopening of Ladder Hill Road on Friday 4 July 2025, further adjustments are being made for the Public Transport Service. These changes will come into effect following the reopening of Ladder Hill Road on Friday afternoon with all scheduled trips leaving Jamestown at 16:10.
ROUTE
DESTINATION AND TIMES
Route 1(from Bottom Woods):
Buses will now depart 10 minutes earlier than previously published, at 07:00, 13:30, and 19:30.
Route 2(from The Flagg, Levelwood):
The daily morning departure will be earlier, at 06:45, arriving at Jamestown Hospital by 07:36. Passengers wishing to continue to St Paul’s and Half Tree Hollow from Jamestown Hospital can connect with the transiting Route 1 bus.
New Route 2 Service(Monday to Friday):
An additional Route 2 run will depart the Golf Club at 08:00, arrive in Jamestown at 08:20, and return to the Golf Club by 08:38.
Route 3
The bus will depart Red Hill at 07:05 and arrive at the Grand Parade at 07:43.
Route 3(Monday to Friday):
The bus departing White Wall will now leave at an earlier time of 07:54 arriving Grand Parade 08:20.
SHG appreciates the community’s understanding and continued support as we work to provide a more efficient and sustainable public transport system for St Helena.
On 30 June 2025 St Helena Government commenced the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance.
As has previously been announced during the consultation on the associated Bill, the Ordinance puts requirements on St Helena companies to declare details of the beneficial owners of those companies to the Registrar, and requires the Registrar to make those details publicly available, thus establishing a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership (PARBO).
This initiative is designed to strengthen the island’s reputation as a responsible jurisdiction and to support global efforts to combat financial crime.
The launch of the accessible register follows extensive consultation with stakeholders and aligns with the highest standards of openness and accountability.
The Registrar will endeavour to contact all companies within the next 14 days in order to outline the steps required to ensure compliance with the law. If you have not heard from the Registrar within 14 days please contact Amelia Gough on amelia.gough@judicialservices.sh.
Amelia can also be contacted to have access to information contained in the PARBO in line with the law.
Following a review of the Public Transport Service, it is evident that the running costs of our public transport service has been significantly impacted due to increased operating costs, the approved subsidy of £87k being exceeded, and consistently low ridership on various routes. To address these challenges and ensure the sustainability of the service, we are proposing initial adjustments to the current schedules.
The proposed changes are detailed in the table below and will come into effect on 1 July 2025:
ROUTE
DAY
TIME
DESTINATION
DATE TO CEASE
DATE OF CHANGE
Route 1
Friday
2135
Bottom Woods – Jamestown
1 July 2025
Route 1
Saturday
0140
Jamestown – Bottom Woods
1 July 2025
Route 1
Sunday
0140
Jamestown – Bottom Woods
1 July 2025
Route 1
Saturday
2330
Jamestown – Bottom Woods
1 July 2025
Route 2
Tuesday, Friday & Saturday
0913
Levelwood – Jamestown
1 July 2025
Route 2
Tuesday, Friday & Saturday
1300
Jamestown – Levelwood
1 July 2025
Route 2
Thursday
1400
Golf Club – Jamestown
1 July 2025
Route 2
Thursday
1430
Jamestown – Golf Club
1 July 2025
Route 2
Saturday
2140
Levelwood – Jamestown
1 July 2025
Route 2
Sunday
0140
Jamestown- Levelwood
1 July 2025
Route 3
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
0905
White Gate – Jamestown
1 July 2025
Route 3
Tuesday
0856 1335
Thompsons Hill – Jamestown and return
1 July 2025
Route 3
Sunday
0140
Jamestown – White Gate
1 July 2025
Route 3
Saturday
2330
Jamestown – White Gate
1 July 2025
Route 4
Monday
0945
Sandy Bay – HTH Clinic
1 July 2025
Route 4
Monday
1200
HTH Clinic – Sandy Bay
1 July 2025
Route 4
Friday
0900
Sandy Bay – Jamestown
1 July 2025
Route 4
Friday
1330
Jamestown – Sandy Bay
1 July 2025
Proposed bus schedules for the Ladder Hill Road Closure will involve adjusted departure and arrival times for certain routes. A significant change will be the addition of a changeover hub at the Alarm Forest bus stop.
To optimise efficiency:
Passengers from Routes 1 and 2, Jamestown, Longwood, and Levelwood will transfer to Route 3 to travel to St Pauls and HTH. The reverse will apply for passengers from the St Pauls/HTH areas.
Passengers from lower HTH will connect with Route 4 to use the Route 2 bus and change at White Gate.
In addition to these adjustments, we are also considering an additional Monday to Friday morning service from Longwood to Jamestown, departing approximately 08:00. Further details on this potential new service will be announced in due course.
A revised bus timetable, reflecting changes following Ladder Hill Road’s reopening, will be published for August.
SHG appreciates the community’s understanding and continued support as we work to provide a more efficient and sustainable public transport system for St Helena.
The International Day of the Seafarer, celebrated annually on 25 June, recognises the vital contributions of seafarers to the global economy and maritime sector.
This is an opportune time to share the stories of two St Helenians who have made a career as a seafarer and work in the maritime industry.
Kevin Williams
Kevin Williams started his career as a Junior Engineer/cadet with Curnow Shipping in September 1993 where he gained extensive experience aboard the RMS St Helena. Kevin progressed through the ranks from 4th Engineer to Marine Engineer Superintendent whilst working for different companies across the UK on various vessels. Whilst working in his seafaring role, Kevin also earned Master’s degrees in Business Administration from Middlesex University and Sustainable Maritime Operations from the University of Plymouth, along with an Honours degree in Engineering and Management from Portsmouth University.
He is currently the Head of Research Ship Engineering /Marine Engineer Manager at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK, which is a research organisation focused on understanding and protecting our ocean, and one that recognises that a key part of having a safe maritime future is keeping the environment we operate in safe.
Kevin’s message to those interested in pursuing a career in maritime:
“It’s such a diverse industry with great opportunities and one I highly recommend. With more than 70% of the earth’s surface covered by water and the vital role it plays in earth’s climate management and 90% of global trade conducted by sea, the maritime industry has a significant role to play in our existence. It can be said that we understand more of the surface of the moon than we do of the oceans around us.
St Helenians more than most know the importance of our oceans so why not take that step into a career in the maritime industry; the roles out there are endless.”
Julian Anthony
After six years in the Royal Navy, Julian’s passion for travel and adventure led him to the superyacht industry. His prior maritime experience quickly helped him secure a position as a deckhand, from which he advanced to Lead Deck.
Julian commented:
“I have been fortunate to work on different yachts which include Lauren L, VAVA II, A, Idynasty, Skat, and I am currently working on H3 as Bosun which means that I have full responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the exterior of the yacht and I manage the deck team.
My work as a seafarer has allowed me to travel to so many places around the world. Some of my most memorable experiences are:
sailing through Indonesia
visiting the remote islands of Raja Ampat
seeing Komodo Dragons in the wild
anchoring of an active volcano
seeing the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
sailing the Hawaiian Islands
travelling to Alaska and seeing glaciers, surfing icebergs, river fishing for salmon with brown bears on the opposite bank and flying in a helicopter to the top of a snow capped volcano for sundowners
travelling to the Bahamas and seeing the swimming pigs
transiting the Suez and Panama Canals on numerous occasions.
We extend our sincere gratitude and wish all seafarers, past and present, on St Helena and overseas a successful Seafarer’s Day.
If you are a seafarer or work within the maritime industry and are interested in sharing your experiences or contributing your skills to the development of young people on St Helena, we encourage you to connect with us. Please contact Maritime Authority via email through terri.clingham@sainthelena.gov.sh or by telephone on (00290) 25970. Alternatively contact Education Consultant, Wendy Benjamin, at wendy.benjamin@sainthelena.gov.sh or (00290) 23043/63351.
The Health and Social Care Portfolio (HSC) advises the public of temporary changes to ambulance operations during the closure of Ladder Hill and Shy Road from 1 to 31 July 2025.
To maintain emergency cover, ambulance vehicles will be based at the Community Care Complex (CCC) in Half Tree Hollow outside of normal working hours. This location has been chosen as most ambulance clinicians live nearby, enabling quicker mobilisation.
During weekdays (08:30 to 16:00), ambulances will continue to operate from the General Hospital, with staff on hand to support the Emergency Department.
A second on-call clinician will be available during evenings and weekends and based in the Alarm Forest or Longwood area. This clinician will carry a response car and can attend critical incidents such as cardiac arrests.
The public are reminded to familiarise themselves with the nearest Automated External Defibrillator (AED). AEDs are accessible 24/7 at the following locations:
District
Location
Half Tree Hollow
Half Tree Hollow Clinic (Outside of the main entrance)
St Paul’s
The Pavilion Area (In the green shed) at Francis Plain
Levelwood
Silver Hill Shop (Outside)
Blue Hill
Blue Hill Community Centre (Outside)
Sandy Bay
Bamboo Hedge Shop (Outside)
Rupert’s
Sea Rescue Building (Outside the main entrance)
Longwood
Royal St Helena Police Post (Outside)
Jamestown
Customs Building (Near the entrance to the Immigration office)
To help emergency services find you faster, please download the free what3words app. All emergency call handlers are trained in first aid and will guide you until help arrives.
For emergencies, dial 999. For non-urgent queries, contact Michael Gaga-Hale on 22500.
HSC thanks the public for their understanding and cooperation during this period.
Further to the press releases issued on Friday, 20 June, announcing that Ministers Jeffrey Ellick and Martin Henry will be off-island, Chief Minister, Julie Thomas, wishes to clarify the ministerial arrangement in place during their absence, especially since the current Council will enter Purdah on 30 June 2025.
Please note that Ministers’ Mark Brooks and Christine Scipio have agreed to serve as on-island points of contact. Minister Scipio will be the on-island point of contact for the Health & Social Care (H&SC) portfolio and can be reached via email at Christine.Scipio@sainthelena.gov.sh. However, Minister Henry will retain overall responsibility for H&SC and will still be contactable at Martin.Henry@sainthelena.gov.sh.
Similarly, Minister Brooks will be the on-island point of contact for the Safety, Security & Home Affairs (SS&HA) portfolio and can be reached via email at mark.brooks@sainthelena.gov.sh. However, Minister Ellick will remain responsible for SS&HA and will still be contactable at jeffrey.ellick@sainthelena.gov.sh.
On-island points of contacts have been established to ensure both portfolios have local on-island representation and that the public are aware of whom to contact should urgent matters arise requiring ministerial input.
