South Africa signs Offshore Ship-to-Ship Transfer Regulations

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), led by Minister Dr Dion George, has signed the Regulations for the Environmental Management of Offshore Ship-to-Ship Transfer to manage offshore STS operations, prevent pollution and protect the African Penguin (signed 22 August 2025; come into force upon Government Gazette publication).

• Main action: The DFFE has signed Regulations for the Environmental Management of Offshore Ship-to-Ship Transfer (STS) under the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008 (Act No. 24 of 2008). Key provisions include prohibited zones (no STS within marine protected areas, aquaculture development zones, within 5 nautical miles of those zones, and within 3 nautical miles of the high-water mark), wildlife protection requirements (penguin and marine mammal monitoring, hydrophones, reporting, immediate oiled-wildlife response plans), and weather/operational limits (in Algoa Bay: wind <22 knots, wave height <2 metres).
• Additional details and enforcement: The regulations require operators to submit an independent Environmental Management Plan for Ministerial approval, use pollution-control equipment (drip trays, leak detection, inflatable booms), maintain a spill-response vessel on standby within five nautical miles of shore, and observe Algoa Bay-specific rules (designated anchorages, limits on operator/tanker numbers, seasonal restrictions in anchorage area 2). Penalties for non-compliance include fines up to R2 million and/or imprisonment up to five years.