A South African high court on Friday struck down an urgent application brought by environmentalists to stop oil major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) from starting seismic surveys to explore petroleum systems off the eastern seaboard’s popular Wild Coast. The applicants, which included Greenpeace Africa and fishermen, had been seeking to stop the survey on the basis it could cause “irreparable harm” to the marine environment, especially to migrating hump-back whales in the area. “The court refused to interdict the seismic survey on the basis that irreparable harm to marine species was not proven by the applicants,” said Katherine Johnson, a spokesperson for Natural Justice, one of the organisations in court. “The court ruled that given financial and other prejudice to Shell if the seismic […]