CAPE TOWN - The Amazon Warrior, the vessel sent to South Africa to conduct Shell’s seismic survey in the hunt for fossil fuels along the coast, has returned to Port of Cape Town on Monday.
The fossil-fuel hunting vessel was caught in frame of the iconic Green Point Lighthouse as it made its way to Cape Town’s port.
Shell’s government-sanctioned plan to conduct a 3D seismic survey on South Africa’s Wild Coast in order to identify potential hydrocarbon reserves below the seabed came to a halt six days ago on December 28.
The ruling by Judge Gerald Bloem at the Grahamstown High Court in Makhanda against Shell and the government’s plans were lauded as the ”power of the people” by environmentalists.
Director of Oceans not Oil Janet Solomon - a coalition of those who stand against South Africa’s fossil fuel dependence - said “this ruling is the very definition of law and justice being the cornerstone of our society. And it will be a very vocal warning to companies that people have the power”.
Non-profit Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) Sinegugu Zukulu said: “The voices of the voiceless have been heard. The voices of the directly affected people have at last been heard, and the constitutional rights of indigenous people have been upheld.”
Shell responded to the ruling by stating: “Shell respects the court decision in relation to the Wild Coast survey and has suspended the survey while we review the judgement.”
There have been a number of protests documented from the beginning of December after news broke of Shell and South Africa’s plan, and the impact seismic survey has on the environment.
Greenpeace Africa’s petition titled “Stop Shell from destroying the Wild Coast” garnered more than 84 600 signatures.
IOL