South Africa intercepts Chinese fishing vessels for unauthorised entry into its waters

South Africa has intercepted four fishing vessels flying the Chinese flag after authorities determined they had entered the country’s territorial waters without proper authorisation.

The vessels, owned by Shenzhen Shuiwan Pelagic Fisheries, were placed under guard by police and fisheries control officers at the Port of Cape Town following their interception.

According to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp, the ship captains were formally charged and an administrative penalty of R400,000 was imposed. The company paid the fine, after which the vessels were allowed to depart South African waters.

Aucamp emphasised the government’s position on maritime security, stating: “South Africa will not tolerate the unlawful use of its maritime zones.”

Authorities said the vessels initially requested permission on February 23 to transit through South Africa’s Exclusive Economic Zone under the principle of innocent passage, which allows ships to move through territorial waters without stopping or conducting activities.

However, the vessels later applied for Off-Port Limits (OPL) authorisation, a request that would allow them to remain offshore without docking, but failed to provide the required documentation or justification. The request was subsequently rejected.

Further investigation revealed that the vessels had already entered South African territorial waters while their OPL request was still under review. Officials detected the ships within 12 nautical miles of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, before tracking them along the coast of Eastern Cape.

Authorities also reported that the vessels repeatedly switched their Automatic Identification System (AIS) on and off during the journey, which violates South African maritime regulations requiring foreign vessels to keep the system active while travelling through national waters.

The fisheries ministry said the incident highlights the country’s efforts to strengthen monitoring and enforcement across its maritime zones to prevent illegal fishing and unauthorised vessel movements.