St. Croix Island is the largest of three islands in

Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located in the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour c ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

located within 8 kilometres of the Port of Nqgura. The islands are of critical importance to sea bird populations, including the endangered

African penguin The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiff ...

St. Croix Island

St. Croix Island at is from the nearest land and rises to . The BirdLife fact sheet states the island is only above sea level. It adds that the island is rocky and “supports minimal vegetation”. The island runs along a northwest, southeast axis and is about wide at its broadest – along the west coast. Its highest point is halfway along the north coast.

Bartholomeu Dias Bartolomeu Dias ( 1450 – 29 May 1500) was a Portuguese mariner and explorer. In 1488, he became the first European navigator to round the southern tip of Africa and to demonstrate that the most effective southward route for ships lay in the o ...

planted a padrão and celebrated Mass on the island in March 1488. With 22,000

African penguins The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffe ...

breeding on the island it is the largest breeding colony of this penguin species. Boat trips out of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

take tourists to see these birds. The population's modern history peaked in 1993, when 63,000 penguins lived there. The population is in decline, following the national and species' trend despite the best efforts of conservation group

SANCCOB The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) is an international body dedicated to seabird rehabilitation. The only seabird rehabilitation organisation registered with the South African Veterinary Council, the n ...

. In 2019, the penguins of St. Croix island were impacted by an oil spill at the

Port of Ngqura The Port of Ngqura is a deepwater port on the east coast (Indian Ocean) of South Africa, 20 km northeast of Gqeberha. It was authorised by an act of parliament in 2002, construction started in September 2002 and the port became operational in ...

. As of 2022 there has been no environmental impact assessment of the ship to shore bunkering with further spills leading to the collapse of the breading colonies.()

Brenton Island

Brenton Island () is equally sparsely vegetated and is less than in elevation, and is roughly in size with a northwest-southeast orientation. It is to sea from the nearest point on the mainland and south of St. Croix. It is named after Naval Commissioner Sir Jahleel Brenton.

Jahleel Island

Jahleel, at less than in height, is just over from the closest beach and less than that from the

’s long eastern breakwater. Jahleel is about the same size as Brenton and has a north-south axis. It is west of St. Croix, and is named after Sir Jahleel Brenton.

References

{{reflist Landforms of the Eastern Cape Indian Ocean islands of South Africa