National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003)RegulationsAddo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area Regulations5. Use of vessels |
| (1) | No person may use or attempt to use any personal watercraft or hovercraft within the Marine Protected Area. |
| (2) | A motorised vessel may only launch within the Marine Protected Area, from a launch site authorised in terms of the Management of Public Launch Site Regulations GNR 497 of 27 June 2014 published in terms of the Integrated Coastal Management Act. |
| (3) | No person may launch any non-motorised vessel from a privately used launch site within a restricted zone of the Marine Protected Area, unless such site is registered with the management authority. |
| (4) | Subject to subregulations (6) and (7), no person may moor or anchor any vessel in a Restricted Zone of the Marine Protected Area except— |
| (a) | under conditions of force majeure; or |
| (b) | for the use of a vessel by an employee of the Department or any other organ of state acting in the course and scope of their employment or mandate; or |
| (c) | for any vessel which has a permit in terms of these regulations for any activity which requires anchoring or mooring. |
| (5) | Subject to subregulations (6) and (7), no person may moor or anchor any vessel over 100 tons in a Controlled Zone of the Marine Protected Area. |
| (6) | Subregulations (4) and (5) shall not apply to a vessel moored or anchored in a recognised and approved mooring or anchoring site in terms of the Marine Traffic Act, for a vessel that is waiting to berth in a port, and authorisation has been granted by the National Ports Authority of South Africa for such vessel to moor and anchor at such site. |
| (7) | Despite subregulation (4) or (5), the management authority may, on application and on such conditions as it may deem appropriate, authorise the anchoring or mooring of a vessel in the following circumstances: |
| (a) | in an emergency; or |
| (b) | where the management authority may deem it to be necessary in order to ensure the proper management of the Marine Protected Area. |
| (8) | The management authority may verbally authorise a vessel to moor or anchor within the Marine Protected Area as contemplated in subregulation (7), which verbal authorisation must be confirmed in writing within 3 working days. |
| (9) | No person shall water ski or operate, use, attempt to use or operate a vessel or occupy the driver’s seat of such vessel, within the Marine Protected Area, while his or her blood contains more than 0.05 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or while under the influence of illegal narcotic substances. |
| (10) | No person shall operate or attempt to operate a vessel closer than three-hundred meters (300m) to any African Penguin or Cape Gannet on an island within the Marine Protected Area, unless authorised to do so by the management authority. |
| (11) | Any motorised vessel that enters or traverses a Restricted Zone within the Marine Protected Area may not stop for more than 3 minutes or move at less than 5 knots at any time while in a Restricted Zone unless authorised in terms of these regulations. |
| (12) | Subregulation (11), does not apply to a SCUBA diving vessel. |
| (13) | A motorised vessel entering or traversing a Restricted Zone within the Marine Protected Area with fishing gear on board must have a Global Positioning System (GPS) Mapping Device with an active trail operational on the vessel, prior to entering and while traversing a Restricted Zone within the Marine Protected Area and such GPS data may not be deleted from this device for 7 calendar days after passing through a Restricted Zone or Sanctuary Zone. |
| (14) | A motorised vessel required by law to have a Vessel Monitoring System must, when entering or traversing the Marine Protected Area with fishing gear on board, ensure that the Vessel Monitoring System is active. |