UPDATE: Sodwana Bay vessel mystery solved
In terms of international maritime legislation, ships are permitted to make passage through marine protected areas.
THE vessel spotted off Sodwana Bay earlier this month caused much debate on social media, a debate which led to inaccuracies about the vessel type and the reason for its presence off a protected marine environment.
As stated by iSimangaliso Wetland Park CEO Andrew Zaloumis, ‘In terms of international maritime legislation, ships are permitted to make passage through marine protected areas’.
Gavin van der Burgh of Pristine Seafoods, the company that owns the vessel, confirmed that the vessel is in fact a long liner, not a trawler.
After extensive refit and overhauls, it was in transit from Cape Town to Beira in Mozambique when it was seen off Sodwana Bay.
‘The vessel had no long line fishing gear on board, as inspected by the South African authorities when leaving Cape Town,’ said Van der Burgh.
He also said the vessel’s home port is Beira and it is legitimately licensed and registered with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).
The vessel’s crew are all South African.
GPS co-ordinates confirmed the vessel did not infringe on the marine reserves of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and, as initially stated by Zaloumis, it was 2.95 nautical miles outside of the marine reserve when spotted.
While the watchfulness and concern of residents over environmental matters was welcomed, in this instance the fears reported were thankfully totally unfounded.
