© D. Meiswinkel / MarineTraffic.com
A Russian research vessel that has been searching for oil and natural gas in Antarctica docked in South Africa on Saturday after protests by environmental activists who say its operations in the region violate a treaty banning mineral exploration.
Several members of the environmental group Extinction Rebellion carried banners reading “Hands off Antarctica” as the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky polar explorer ship arrived on schedule at Cape Town harbor in the morning.
Earlier this week, several dozen protesters from Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion rallied at the port, saying the ship’s Antarctic seismic surveys were a threat to marine life in the area and violated a 1958 international agreement.
A 1998 amendment to the 55-nation Antarctic Treaty, to which Russia and South Africa are signatories, bans all mineral exploration and extraction in the region.
RosGeo, the state-owned Russian exploration company operated by Akademik Alexander Karpinsky, says it has been conducting research in Russia’s designated part of Antarctica since the 1970s to explore for hydrocarbons.
According to the RosGeo website, the hydrocarbon potential of the designated area is estimated at approximately 70 billion tons.
RosGeo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Extinction Rebellion representative Cassie Goodman told Reuters the South African government was complicit in environmental damage by allowing the Russian ship to dock.
South Africa’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government of President Cyril Ramaphosa has friendly relations with Russia. South Africa says it is impartial on the Ukraine conflict and has abstained from voting on UN resolutions on the war.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited South Africa and the two countries, along with China, will hold a joint military exercise on the African nation’s east coast from February 17-27.
(Reuters – Reporting by Promit Mukherjee Editing by Helen Popper)
