Oil giant threatens to walk away from the project if it isn’t allowed to get going with it in December
Cape Town cartoonist and illustrator Chip Snaddon is one of many artists who has used the Shell logo to criticise the company for its seismic testing off the Wild Coast.A group of prominent SA marine scientists on Thursday called on the government to halt Shell’s seismic survey along the Wild Coast due to concerns about harmful impacts.
In a letter to the government, the objecting scientists claim recent scientific studies suggest that seismic surveys are harmful to both large marine mammals, like whales and dolphins, and to tiny plankton. The letter is addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa and cabinet members Gwede Mantashe and Barbara Creecy.
“SA’s marine ecosystems, and the coastal community’s sustainable blue economies that depend on their health, are being threatened by the deployment of offshore seismic surveying,” the letter states. “There is a growing body of evidence pointing to the immediate and long-term, and largely unmitigable, negative impacts of this invasive method on marine creatures.
The Makhanda high court is expected to deliver a verdict on Friday regarding the urgent interdict, which could scupper Shell’s offshore ambitions. The oil giant’s legal representatives told the court that Shell may have to walk away from the project should it be prevented from surveying this month.
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