Shell to blast the Wild Coast during Whale Migration Season
At a time when world leaders are making promises and decisions to step away from fossil fuels because climate science has shown we cannot burn our existing reserves (let alone drill for more), offshore oil and gas Operation Phakisa is pushing ever harder to get its hands on a local supply of gas. Shell must answer for how the harms done during this survey and any exploration drilling done hereafter are part of its energy transition plan to control global warming.
Below you will see the notice that was placed today( 2 Nov 2021).
Project Reference: 720.19161.00001 File Ref. Shell Transkei Survey Notification Letter 29Oct21
29 October 2021
Dear Sir/Madam,
SHELL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SOUTH AFRICA – NOTIFICATION OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF A 3D SEISMIC SURVEY IN THE TRANSKEI EXPLORATION AREA OFF THE EAST COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA
Notice is hereby given that Shell Exploration and Production South Africa has appointed Shearwater GeoServices to commence with a three-dimensional (3D) seismic survey within its Transkei Exploration Area off the East Coast of South Africa from the earliest on 01 December 2021.
The survey will be undertaken under Exploration Right 12/3/252 and will cover an area of approximately 6 011 km2 located roughly between Port St Johns and Morgans Bay. The survey area is located more than 20 km from the coast at its closest point in water depths ranging between 700 and 3 000 m (refer to locality plan in Attachment A). It is anticipated that the seismic survey would take in the order of four to five months to complete, depending on weather and current conditions.
Under the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, a seismic survey vessel that is engaged in surveying is defined as a “vessel restricted in its ability to manoeuvre”, which requires that power- driven and sailing vessels give way to a vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuvre. Vessels engaged in fishing are kindly requested to, so far as possible, keep out of the way of the seismic operation. Furthermore, under the Marine Traffic Act of 1981, a seismic survey vessel and its seismic array is protected by a 500 m safety exclusion zone.
Capricorn Marine Environmental has been appointed to provide the Fisheries Liaison Officer (FLO), Marine Mammal Observers (MMO) and Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) services for the duration of the survey. Should you have any queries on the above, or require any further information on the planned survey, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.
Your sincerely,
Eloise Costandius
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd Email: ecostandius@slrconsulting.com
SMS / WhatsApp: 063 900 5536
Oceans Not Oil 
Shell of our ocean. I object to this devious act. 😡
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Please do not let Shell drill n our ocean and harm our sea life
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I object to this devious act!!!!!!! Please protect our coasts; oceans and our wonderful planet and don’t keep on destroying it!!!!
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Disgraceful lack of consideration from Shell. The should be closed down for even attempting to go through with this.
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I object to this project
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I object to this criminal act. Will not be supporting Shell at all in the future if they do not desist from this action.
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I stand against this act,.. 🙏
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Money money money, no thought for this beautiful unspoilt coastline! Really SHELL can you not do something along the conservation lines and help our already threatened planet, very disappointed that you have no interest in the environment at all, there will be nothing left for your generations to come and all you will have to show will be dirty money!
Boycott SHELL, no ethics or love for nature!
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I object!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What devious nonsense is this?
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Stop destroying our earth.
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Shell STAY AWAY – OFF our Ocean! this is just disgusting!
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We OBJECT to this Catastrophic Act. No No No!
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This is money grabbing to the detriment of those who cannot protest- our wildlife. This cannot and should not be authorised!
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Please dont allow this madness! Stop Shell from destroying our sea life!
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I object to this. This is destruction of our natural marine environments, and as caretakers of our environment and our future we must protect this.
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This is an outrage
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Please don’t damage our beautiful coast for greed
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This dumb move besmirches the brand name “Shell” to all who know what this plan will do to marine life.
YOU SHOULD BE RESEARCHING VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PETROLEUM ENERGY.
SPEND YOUR MONEY ON SOMETHING INTELLIGENT, NOT MORE OF WHAT WE DO NOT NEED OR WANT.
Douglas Bullis
Grahamstown, South Africa
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Leave our Oceans to the creature’s that live in them.. No Shell.. Blast off!!!
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Please protect the oceans….!!!
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Shell has to get out of the ocean.
Politics is dirty business.
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I object to this greediness, we have enough problems and dont need to create more, where can i sign a petition?
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I object to Shell searching for oil
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SAVE THE WHALES 🐋 ✨
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This is absolute greed. The only one who will gain from this is Shell. Leave our South African waters alone. You are destroying one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. What are you thinking?
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This has to stop. They cannot endanger our marine life any longer in the name of greed
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No!!!!!
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The greedy are circling again as a long time visitor to this beautiful coastline I object in the strongest possible terms to this exploration and to support this will also not use Shell filling stations any longer
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How ironic a company named Shell can be so reckless towards the Ocean.
Please stop this project.
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Hands off our land, our land belong to us. Politicians aim to enrich themselves they don’t have love of the people at heart they do this because government has supported them in dethroning our King of Amampondo until his last breath
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This is outrageous, how can this be allowed. Oh my soul, let’s just kill all our Marine life. 😠
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The thought of what this will mean to our marine life is more than nauseating for me to even contemplate!
As a resident of the Eastern Cape Province, I strongly object to this kind of activity on our coastline. Stop with immediate effect!
I will be boycotting all Shell Garages and other businesses, with immediate effect and will be actively campaigning against this course of action.
The whales are already under siege from attack especially from Japan and others who hunt and kill them. Our coastline is one of the few places of relative peace and safety that whales can still enjoy. The sheer terror and horror they will experience when these seismic blasts start going off bombarding them night and day for months on end is just not acceptable for any reason whatsoever. It is just another plan for raping and pillaging resources, that only a few people will benefit from anyway. it will be far more lucrative to invest in the whale-watching industry and less invasive and will conserve rather than destroy.
I am totally against this kind of planned action.
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Shell should be ashamed of themselves. Do they not understand what a huge impact this will have on that area of ocean and it’s inhabitants, from Whales to Invertbrates. DISGUSTING. The South African government doesn’t understand the implications of what they have signed up to. WAKE UP, YOU ARE HELPING TO DESTROY THE EARTH. What if you don’t find anything.? Leave the Ocean alone.
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We need the oil.we need the money from oil to protect the envioroment.it was being destroyed long before you bringing youre noncence here.its like the titanuim mining we needed it on the wild coast.show us the alternate to bring wild coast to fruitation
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I object to the tesing of shell!!! Keep our Wild Coast wild!!!
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No no no to shells plans, our oceans are not for them to even look at.
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Good day, please note that I for one condemn the actions of Shell and stand firm on them being stopped in there tracks from causing such terrible distruction to our coast line and the marine life there in.
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Unacceptable….they are raping our environment for capital gains…just to fill their pockets even more
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Unacceptable….they are raping our environment for capital gains…just to fill their pockets even more
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We demand that Minister Gwede Mantashe , to cancel and withdraw the Licences and Permits for the prospecting survey and prospecting Drilling by SHELL and the subcontractors. This urgent withdrawel in the next 7 days as legal steps are in the process.
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This cannot happen. There is obviously something underhanded going on.
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I object
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Do not destroy our future for your benefit! Rather find ways to benefit everyone by generating energy from natural sources and desalinating water so we we all have enough.
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You are destroying our wildlife, soon we will have nothing. Safe our coastline & wildlife, they are more needed, than your stupid test for nothing other than to destroy & kill.
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The natural environment needs to be preserved
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This is a deplorable destructive action on our pristine ocean. Leave us alone!
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Choose ocean over oil what if that was you being bombed WAKE UP!
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Against blasting. Against fossil fuels. I will boycott all SHELL stations.
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Its WRONG!!!!!
Killing our Ocean is a criminal offence!!!!!
STOP SHELL
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SHELL you are not endearing your company and it’s products to the majority of world population who appreciate oceans and what lives there – Surely a company with the experience, funds and knowledge does not require the use of Seismic blasting to prove anything. Only thing it does prove is that Shell is a ecological disaster of a company with little concern for the sea life of our great planet. Hang your heads in shame!!!
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This should not be allowed. Nature will be around long after us if we leave it alone. Why do we want to kill off and chase away everything so our kids and their kids lose out.
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Shell has screwed up the land now they are going to destroy the marine life that is beautiful and serene, a world on it’s own. All for the sake of riches. I will never support a shell service station.
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