Hazards
Nautical charts of the bay caution mariners that "projectiles and badly corroded mustard gas containers have been found in the area between Cape St Francis and Bird Island out to depths of 400 m (1,300 ft). Trawlers should exercise the greatest caution."
The chemical weapons were dumped in the bay in the aftermath of World War II. During that conflict, Port Elizabeth was used as a research, manufacturing and storage site for Allied poison gas. An official at the SA Navy's Hydrographic Office recalls that at least one trawler once snagged a projectile or canister in its nets and that the crew were badly burned. The condition of the canisters and projectiles are not currently known. There is no record of any recent incidents.
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