Premature Celebrations of the African Penguin’s Fight for Survival a Serious Concern
African Penguins by © Dan Callister/Penguins & Sharks
From SANCCOB & Birdlife South Africa, Capetown
Premature Celebrations of the African Penguin’s Fight for Survival a Serious Concern for Conservation Organisations
Minister Dion George has published new regulations on ship-to-ship fuel transfer, hailed as a lifeline for the African Penguin, but top conservation NGOs BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB warn against taking this “lifeline” at face value and doubt the efficacy of the regulations.
25 August 2025, Cape Town, South Africa – On 22 August 2025, Minister Dion George used a gathering of scientists, conservationists, fishing industry representatives, and government officials to sign into law new Ship-to-Ship Transfer Regulations. The event took place on the government-owned research and resupply vessel, the SA Agulhas II. These Ship-to-Ship Transfer Regulations apply to the refuelling of one ship from another outside of harbours, alleviating the need for ships to dock to refuel, thereby saving time and costs for the refuelling vessel. This activity, also known as offshore bunkering, is currently permitted in South African waters only in Algoa Bay.
BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB have long held the opinion that bunkering should be disallowed in Algoa Bay considering the findings of the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) (February 2024)1 which emphasises the severity of risks to African Penguins, particularly in Anchorage Area 2, closest to St Croix Island. Whilst the benefits of bunkering accrue to fuel suppliers and shipping companies, the risk is borne by the marine ecosystems exposed to a higher risk of oil spills and increased underwater noise pollution. Algoa Bay’s St Croix Island was once home to the largest remaining African Penguin colony, with almost 8000 breeding pairs resident in 2015. Since the advent of bunkering in the bay in 2016, this colony has now dwindled down to only 700 pairs.
Scientific research has demonstrated the correlation between increased vessel traffic noise associated with bunkering in the vicinity of St Croix Island and the dramatic decline in penguin numbers. In fact, when the activity was stopped in 2024, due to non-compliance with the Income Tax Act by several bunkering operators, the African Penguin population on St Croix Island doubled. This number halved again once bunkering resumed in 2025. In addition, since the advent of bunkering operations, there have been four oil spills in Algoa Bay attributed to bunkering
1 Study commissioned by Transnet, undertaken by PRDW Consulting Port and Coastal Engineers (2024): Offshore bunkering and ship to ship transfer of liquid bulk in the Nelson Mandela Bay Ports.activities resulting in the oiling of several hundred penguins and other seabirds. The risk of spills
increases when ship to ship transfers happen at night or in rough seas.
The new Ship-to Ship Transfer Regulations were first gazetted for public comment in February 2025 and were met with resistance from both the bunkering industry and conservation groups, albeit for different reasons. The revised Regulations, signed by the Minister at the event on Friday night (22 August), differ from the first iteration in that the restrictions are now more lenient to the bunkering industry. The following shortcomings of the Regulations are of particular concern:
• Operations in Algoa Bay – the only area where bunkering is currently occurring – are exempt from several regulatory prohibitions specifically intended to protect sensitive sites. This is not only detrimental to the St Croix penguin colony but also sets a worrying precedent about the meaning of prohibitions and how discriminately, or indiscriminately, they may be applied.
• Transfer at night, despite being extremely risky, makes the identification of spills and the location of marine mammals and African Penguins difficult to detect in the dark. An additional concern is that oil spill response teams are unable to detect or start clean-up during night- time hours.
• Notwithstanding the recommendation in the ERA that bunkering does not take place in wave heights of over one metre, the Regulations permit bunkering in swells of up to 2 metres.
• The seasonal restriction on bunkering to occur during the non-breeding period for African Penguins in the Regulations, whilst well-intentioned, is unlikely to have the desired effect given that the breeding season extends beyond the period stated in the Regulations, and penguins use Algoa Bay for foraging throughout the year.
• There is an absence of any meaningful measure to reduce vessel-derived noise pollution and its associated negative impact on African Penguins in the final Regulations, including the lack of speed restrictions and the removal of the requirement to abide by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Guidelines for the Reduction of Underwater Radiated Noise from Shipping to Address the Adverse Impacts on Marine Life. Whilst the Minister has referred to the fishing closures around colonies, including St Croix, as lifelines, Dr Alistair McInnes, Seabird Conservation Programme Manager at BirdLife South Africa) points out that “the Algoa Bay closure will be meaningless unless the negative consequences of bunkering are avoided.”
Nicky Stander, Head of Conservation at SANCCOB, has also expressed concern about the cumulative impact of increased vessel traffic: “It is not only the ships actively involved in bunkering, but also vessels stationed in the anchorage areas as they wait for fuel and move in and out of these zones, that will contribute to pressures to the African Penguin colony on St Croix”.
SANCCOB and BirdLife South Africa have consistently advocated for the Minister’s use of the emergency powers available to prohibit bunkering in terms of section 59 of the National Environmental Management Integrated Coastal Management Act (a Coastal Protection Notice) or in terms of section 57(2) of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act To date, government has failed to heed the call to avoid or mitigate actual and potential harm in relation to offshore bunkering operations, which undermines the right of South Africans to have the environment protected for the current and future generations (and in circumstances where the economic justification for bunkering is questionable at best).
SANCCOB and BirdLife South Africa will continue to be the fiercest defenders of the African Penguin. These two organisations are unapologetic about holding those in power accountable when it comes to meaningful interventions to save the species. In keeping with the Minister’ssentiments, as expressed on Friday evening, they are willing to partner in initiatives the bring real change and are open to reasonable compromise. However, they are also determined to fight for the survival of the African Penguin.
• BirdLife South Africa is a non-profit organisation whose vision is a country and region where nature and people live in greater harmony, more equitably and more sustainably, while its mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and biodiversity through, inter alia, scientifically-based programmes and supporting the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. BirdLife South Africa actively works towards the conservation of African Penguins through its Seabird Conservation Programme.
• SANCCOB is registered as a non-profit company, non-profit organisation and public benefit organisation in terms of the laws of South Africa, operating from two facilities in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. SANCCOB’s primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations – their flagship species being the Critically Endangered African penguin – through a multi-faceted conservation approach that includes rehabilitation and release of seabirds, implementation and consultancy of preparedness and response in the event of oil spills affecting marine wildlife, carrying out integral scientific research, provision of in-situ support to conservation managing authorities, skills development, and public awareness via environmental education.
Mark Anderson
CEO, BirdLife South Africa
Natalie Maskell
CEO, SANCCOB
For more information, contact:
BirdLife South Africa: Kurt Martin, Communications Manager, kurt.martin@birdlife.org.za
SANCCOB: Nicky Stander, Head of Conservation, nicky@sanccob.co.za