South Africa Seizes Four Chinese Fishing Vessels in Exclusive Economic Zone. Johannesburg, South Africa — South Africa has seized four Chinese fishing vessels that entered its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without authorization, according to a statement by the country’s Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Willie Aucamp.
The vessels, owned by Shenzhen Shuiwan Pelagic Fisheries, were intercepted and placed under supervision in Cape Town.
The ships requested “innocent passage “on February 23, claiming they would leave South African waters before March 3.
However, they later sought permission to navigate outside port limits without the required documents. During this period, the vessels repeatedly switched off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders while already inside South African territorial waters.
The vessels were detected less than 12 nautical miles from the KwaZulu-Natal coast and were later tracked as they moved south along the Eastern Cape coastline. “South Africa will not tolerate the illegal use of its maritime zones, “Aucamp.
The incident has triggered an inter — agency response, and the government has emphasized its commitment to enforcing the rules of the EEZ.
The seizure of the vessels is part of ongoing efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region. Further details are expected as the situation develops. Sources close to the matter said the government is reviewing its policies on maritime enforcement to prevent similar incidents in the future.
