# Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dion George, says the new regulations to control offshore ship-to-ship fuel transfers in South African waters are a decisive step to safeguard the oceans. The regulations introduce a risk-based system to prevent and reduce the harm that offshore ship-to-ship transfers, including bunkering, can cause to marine and coastal ecosystems. Minister George says non-compliance will be met with firm penalties, including fines of up to two-million-rand, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
Minister George warns of harsh penalties for non-compliance for offshore fuel transfers in SA