[2][3] It once had a small peninsula on its eastern side, with its isthmus in the south and a well established fishing village named Saint Martin of the Tigers (in Portuguese: São Martinho dos Tigres).

The ocean broke through the isthmus of the peninsula in 1962 and the water line was severed.

Of the original bay, only a small inlet open to the north —the Saco dos Tigres— remains at the southern end.

[6] On 6 December 1904 the Russian fleet proceeding to the pacific to fight the Battle of Tsushima of stopped at the bay to take on coal.

[7] The British HMS Barrosa arrived the next day looking for the fleet before heading to Moçâmedes.