PORT ELIZABETH - RESCUE TEAMS LAUNCH SEARCH AND RECOVERY MISSION TO SAVE OILED AFRICAN PENGUINS IN ALGOA BAY

08h00 on Saturday the 20th of August, NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew launched the sea rescue craft Eikos Rescuer IV and Spirit of Surfski II and the SA National Parks (SANParks) rigid inflatable boat JMB Malusi, skippered by NSRI, was launched carrying NSRI volunteers, SANParks rangers and SANCCOB (SA Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) members following a request by SANParks made to NSRI Port Elizabeth to assist in the search and recovery of oiled African Penguins at St Croix Island and the adjacent smaller Jaheel Island and Brenton Island (off the Deepwater Port of Ngqura), Algoa Bay, Port Elizabeth.

During this past week SANParks and SANCCOB had reportedly recovered a number of oiled Penguins in the area washed up on beaches suspected to have been oiled from an oil spill believed to have occurred during a ship to ship oil transfer that is still under investigation by SAMSA (South African Maritime Safety Authority). Today SANParks appealed to NSRI Port Elizabeth to assist in the search and recovery operation that extended to the three Islands off the Port of Ngqura.

NSRI, SANCCOB and SANParks recovered 47 Penguins (32 adult and 15 chicks) in todays operation which started at 08h00 and was completed at around 13h45.
They were located and recovered from St Croix Island and Jaheel Island. No affected Penguins were located on Brenton Island.

We circled the Islands looking for affected Penguins and once located we put rescue teams ashore over rocks to safely capture the Penguins. The operation was made difficult by rough sea conditions.

The Penguins were brought into the Port of Ngqura aboard the sea rescue craft and aboard the SANParks craft and they have been transported to treatment centres at SAMREC (SA Marine Rehabilitation Centre) in Port Elizabeth and SANCCOB in Cape St Francis.

SANCCOB have appealed for towels and newspapers, used in the cleaning of the Penguins, to be brought to their offices in Cape St Francis or dropped off at the Wimpy in Jeffreys Bay.

TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONE

Picture attached by NSRI Port Elizabeth.

VIA - nsri.org.za