Independent Observer Reports

VALE is compiling all the IO Summaries and any reports obtained under FOI to analyse the voyages (looking much better than usual) and DAWR transparency (so far not looking any better than usual). Bear with us....takes DAWR forever to release them...and then we have to analyse....!

Note: Every single report states: "The causes of the mortalities were not considered to be linked to any systemic failure by the exporter." So inanition in sheep is not an exporter failure (when they dont use feed marker bars) ? sailing into predictable heat, humidity and cyclones is not a systemic failure? Likewise failure to load enough food? pregnant animals? The Dept at its brilliant and unbelievable best!

Note: as of 30 Sept 2019, 14% of published voyages to China had insufficient food and 13% of ME voyages likewise. Without IO reports, these stats would never be known.

Report 1: April 2018 MV Maysora; Adelaide, Fremantle, Turkey; 29 day voyage; sheep mortality 0.43%; cattle mortality 0.11%; 11 days of mild to severe heat stress noted in sheep and cattle (even pastoral cattle) but no mention in IO SUMMARY. Poor feed quality. One lamb born but not noted in IO Summary.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENT: see document
VALE COMMENTS: see docum ent

Report 2: May 2018; MV Al Messilah; Fremantle, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE; 19 day voyage; sheep mortality 0.34%; cattle mortality 0; 16 days of 'energy draining' panting (ie heat stress) noted in sheep but the IO did not refer to heat stress and nor did the IO SUMMARY. IO did not use routine Panting Score. Daily voyage reports (AAV) record 0 panting and 0 heat stress. Ship temperatures not included and only taken once daily in the morning (present in Daily Voyage Reports). 15-20 pregnant ewes noted by IO but not in Daily Voyage Reports.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: see document
VALE COMMENTS: see document
DAILY VOYAGE REPORTS FOI: reports from Messilah (IO2) and Shuwaikh (IO7) in one document: see document

Report 3: May 2018; Bader III; Adelaide, Fremantle, Israel, Jordan; 30 day voyage;
0.27% sheep mortality (169 sheep ); 0.26% cattle mortality (15 cattle). 6 lambs born and 3 survived. Heat stress from Day 3. There is no mention of "heat stress" in the official IO summary despite it being noted in live sheep and that it was a documented cause of cattle deaths. Day 16 had 34 degrees Celcius wet bulb temperature. For Merino sheep, the DAWR's heat stress threshold is 30.6 and its mortality limit is 35.5.
And the DAWR accidentally omitted handing over some relevant pages from the IO notes for May 19 obtained under FOI: see direct image below!

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: see document 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
VALE SUMMARY FOI DOCUMENTS: see document
VALE COMMENT: official summary vs FOI documents

Report 4: May 2018; Yangtze Fortune;Fremantle to Oman; 18-day voyage. Sheep only and 0.30% mortality (46). Significant heat stress occurred from Day 5 for an unspecified duration. Twin lambs were born but euthanased due to expected high heat in feedlot. The description "heat stress" did not appear in the IO SUMMARY.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: see document
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 5: May 2018; MV Gudali Express; Fremantle to Hon La, Vietnam; 11 day voyage. Cattle only (2410) and 0.25 per cent mortality (6). IO Summary remarkable for its complete lack of detail.
IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 6: May 2018; MV Awassi Express/ MV Anna Marra; Broome, Panjang, Jakarta, Pasir Gudang;14-day voyage. Cattle only and 0.03% mortality (3). Panting in pastoral cattle at rest but no heat stress recorded. Hose and trough leaks.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 7: May 2018, Al Shuwaikh, Adelaide, Fremantle, Kuwait, Hamad, Jebel Ali; voyage length 30 days (from Adelaide), 24 days (from Fremantle); sheep mortality from Adelaide 0.98% (563); overall sheep mortality (0.88%); cattle mortality 0; sheep mortality from Fremantle 0.39% (46); cattle mortality 0. Heat stress occurred and deaths due to smothering. On numerous occasions, animals in some pens were left without water overnight. Food quality was quite poor on some decks and mouldy food was sometimes present in both sheep and cattle troughs. Sheep deprived of fresh food for 30-32 hours. Inaccurate sheep numbers loaded. Heat stress scored as normal each day on the daily voyage reports (with the exception of one day on Deck 5 and one day on Deck 3). This voyage was only one month after the 60 Minutes program!

IO SUMMARY REPORT: not available until 2019; see document
IO FOI DOCUMENT: see document
VALE COMMENT: see document
DAILY VOYAGE REPORTS FOI: reports from Messilah (IO2) and Shuwaikh (IO7) in one document. See document

NOTE 1: The FOI documents are heavily redacted but critical comments still remain. The sheep number from Adelaide is erroneous with 275 MORE sheep being unloaded than possible. The 0.98% figure thus cannot be accepted as being correct: it could be an under-estimate (if extra sheep loaded to cover possible deficits) OR, it could be an over-estimate (if the number of sheep loaded was truly less than stated). Number discrepancies for this exporter have been evident on other high mortality and routine mortality voyages.
NOTE 2: one source of avoidable heat was discovered by the IO and not by the AAV (8 years experience) or the stockman (25 years of experience).

Report 8: May 2018; MV Maysora; Fremantle, Turkey; 21 day voyage. Sheep mortality 0.23% (155). Cattle mortality 0. Heat stress occurred but the words heat stress not mentioned in the IO SUMMARY. 6 lambs born - not recorded in the IO SUMMARY.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: see document
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 9: June 2018; MV Al Messilah; Fremantle, Kuwait, QATAR, UAE; 21 days. Sheep mortality rate 0.53% (306); cattle mortality 0. Heat stress of uncertain duration described and illustrated with photos also but no mention of heat stress in the IO SUMMARY and no representative photos included. Blind sheep unloaded for transport in the Middle East.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: see document
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 10: June 2019; MV Bahijah; Fremantle, Israel; 22 day voyage; sheep mortality 0.18% (17 mortalities); cattle mortality 0.03% (one mortality). This was the first voyage and heat stress described in the IO Summary. After this report, the DAWR never included "heat stress" as a description in any summary. Note from FOI: IO recorded higher RR than AAV and a large quantity of alcohol brought on board this dry ship (1 carton of beer provided by exporter).

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: see document
VALE COMMENTS: see document

Report 11: June 2018; MV Jawan; Broome, Panjang (Indonesia); eight day voyage. Cattle only and 0 mortality.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: none available
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 12: July 2018, Yangtze Fortune; Portland to Ningbo (China); 20 days (16 predicted and food for 19); high mortality voyage with 1.51% (33/2192) cattle mortality. Main cause of death heat stress. Heat stress Day 5 to Day 20. Ship infrastructure poor: water and food troughs knocked off, water hoses of domestic use quality (!) so broke/split and no spares, drainage issues etc. AMSA required issues rectified on return.
"The animals had plenty of space and ventilation was good; there was simply no relief from hot and humid conditions". AAV in EOV Report.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
FOI DOCUMENTS FOR THE VOYAGE: see documents
VALE COMMENT: pending
MEDIA COMMENT: see live-sheep-export-row-hits-cattle-ship-that-fails-inspection-leaving-fremantle

Report 13: July 2018, MV Jawan, Broome to Panjang and Jakarta; 9 day voyage; cattle mortality 0.06% (2/6164).

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI DOCUMENTS: none available
VALE COMMENT: no report of how and when temperatures recorded (the only report at this time not to do so) and only 50% cattle could lie down at one time.

Report 14: August 2018; Jawan; 6342 cattle form Broome to Indonesia; 7 day voyage; 0.06% (4 mortalities).

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENTS: see documen t

Report 15: August 2018; Gudali Express; Broome, Panjang, Belawan; 11-day voyage.
Cattle only and mortality 0.08% (3).

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
IO FOI Documents: none available
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 16: August 2018; Yangtze Harmony; Fremantle to Huanghua, China; 14 days; 0.13% (3/2190) cattle. AMSA found ventilation issues before leaving that required correction. IO noted issues with water troughs. Understocked but some pens still exceeded ASEL.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document
MEDIA COMMENT: see live-sheep-export-row-hits-cattle-ship-that-fails-inspection-leaving-fremantle

Report 17: August 2018; Gloucester Express; Geelong to China; 20 day voyage; 0.03% cattle mortality (1). Two significant breaches of ASEL: insufficient food loaded for a 20 day voyage; one late pregnant heifer loaded (and died giving birth).

IO SUMMARY REPORT: See report
VALE COMMENT: See comment

High Mortality Voyage 75: No veterinarian onboard. No mention of an independent observer - so IO not present on all ships.
See: http://www.vale.org.au/high-mortality-voyages.html

Report 18: August 2018; MV Jawan; Cattle to China
IO SUMMARY REPORT: none available 12 months after voyage??

Report 19: September 2018; MV Ocean Swagman; Portland to China (port unspecified); 20 days; 6841, breeder cattle; 0.06% mortality (4). Thin sawdust bedding for breeder dairy cattle at first washdown; thick cover of bedding applied just before China.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 20: September 2018, MV Bahijah, Fremantle to Eilat, Israel; 20 days; 0.07% (4/5907) cattle mortality. Appears to be no bedding in pens on Day 1. Out of spec cattle loaded.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 21:Maysora, Cattle to Israel and Jordan, September 2018. Status: In progress...12 months later

Report 22: September/October 2018; Gloucester Express; Fremantle to Huanghua, China; 14 days; 0.05% cattle mortality (1/1,952) report released 11 months after voyage. No reporting of WBT - heat stress likely to have been present given pad conditions. No mention of WBT or panting scores. No washdown in 14 days despite poor pad conditions. Problems with ventilation (exhaust fumes into hold 3).

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 23: October 2018; MV Ganado Express;Portland, Beihai (China);18 days.
Cattle only and 0.03% mortality (1). High heat and humidity for voyage with no mention of actual WBT or panting scores.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Reports 24: October 2018, MV Gudali Express, Broome to Jakarta; 6 days; 0/3187 cattle mortality. Uneventful voyage. At least 50% cattle could lie down at once

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 25: October 2018, MV Awassi Express, Broome to Panjang and Belawan; 14 days; 0.06% (7/12250) cattle mortality. Max WBT 32. Little information of note in summary. Main cause of mortality: pneumonia.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 26: October 2018, MV Girolando Express; POrtland to TIanjin (China); 19 day voyage; 0.23% (8/3436) cattle mortality. Photos: Friesian dairy cows. 90-100% could lie down and no issues noted.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 27: October 2018, MV Ganado Express, Darwin to Hon La (Vietnam); 12 day voyage; 0.12% (2/1736) cattle mortality, 0.2% (1/500) buffalo mortality. Healing dehorning wounds on 4 buffalo so possibly loaded contrary to ASEL ("no bleeding horn stumps"). No issues noted.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 28: October 2018, MV Shorthorn Express; Broome to Panjang; 7 day voyage. 0/A 2,860 cattle. No issues noted. No detailed of heat and humidity provided. >50% of cattle could lie down.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 30: November 2018; MV Galloway Express; Townsville to Jakarta; 10 days; 0/3610 cattle mortality. No issues noted and no temperature details provided. Temperature readings once daily at 1am and pens near fuel tanks and engine rooms noticeably warmer.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 31: November 2018, MV Yangtze Harmony, Fremantle to Muscat (Oman); 16 days; 0.24% (36/14788) sheep mortality. No information on heat (10am monitoring). Insufficent food for voyage. Water hygiene issues. Judas sheep deprived of food and water. FOI would be beneficial.

IO SUMMARY: see report-30.pdf
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 33: November 2018, Greyman Express; Townsville to Vietnam; 12 days; 0.16 % (4/2437) cattle mortality. Cattle with trucking injuries loaded (ASEL non-compliance). Trough design issues.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 34: status: in progress

Report 35: November 2018; MV Rahmeh; Darwin to Panjang (indonesia); 10 days; 0.05% (3/438) buffalo mortality and 0.45% (2/5935) cattle mortality. IO found problems not noted by crew. Report 9 months later

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see repo rt

Report 36; November 2018; MV Al Shuwaikh; Fremantle to Kuwait, Qatar and UAE; 25 days;
0. 26% (153/58886) sheep and 0% (0/312 cattle mortality. Benign conditions. Temperatures measured 4 hourly. IO missed one episode of minor non‐compliant handling of two sheep (picked up by Dept on video and actually reported!).

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 37: November 2018; MV Shorthorn Express; Broome to Jakarta, Indonesia; 8 days; 0.03% (1/2875) cattle mortality. No issues identifiable from report. >50% of animals able to lie down suggests that not all could in all pens. Report 9 months later

IO SUMMARY: see report

Reports 38: in progress

Report 39: November 2018, MV Girolando Express, Darwin to Indonesia; 8 days; mortality 0.05% (2/3,353) cattle. Temperatures taken once daily at 10am. Heat and humidity data not provided. No issues noted in IO summary.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report

Report 40: November 2018, MV Ocean Ute; Portland to Tianjin, China; 22 days; 0.84% (47/5606) mortality breeder cattle. Voyage 6 days longer than expected. Not enough food. Extreme weather variation from freezing to exceeding the HST. Rough seas. No mention of heat stress despite WBT 30 degrees.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Reports 41: November 2018, MV Ganado Express; Townsville to Phu My (Vietnam); 12 days; 0.12% (3/2507) cattle mortality. 6 captive bolt shots required for 2 of those cattle.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: report-41.pdf
VALE COMMENT: vale_comment_io_41_townsville_to_vietnam_nov_2018.pdf

Report 42: November 2018, MV Anna Marra (formerly Awassi Express before 60 Minutes exposure); Townsville to Indonesia; 16 days; 0.08% (14/17450) cattle mortality. VENTILATION ISSUES IDENTIFIED. Report 9 months later.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 43: November 2018, MV Ocean Swagman; Fremantle to Vietnam; 11 days; 0.12% (5/4251) cattle mortality. No heat stress reported but cattle congregated near fans and pens reportedly boggy on occasions. Rough seas encountered. Report 9 months later.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report

Report 44: December 2018; Rahmeh; Portland to Huanghua (China); 24 days; 0.09% (6/6376) cattle mortality. Inadequate space allowance. Necropsies not done on all animals.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 45: December 2018, Yangtze Fortune; Geraldton to Indonesia and Malaysia; 13 days; 0.2% (1/5175) cattle mortality. Inadequate space allowance

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 46: December 2018, MV Girolando Express, Darwin to Panjang; 7 day voyage; 1.14% (2/174) buffalo and 0.03% (1/3253) cattle mortality. Overstocking of pens by 2 animals in a small number of pens ((not noted to be non compliant with ASEL). WBT 28-20/ Mild heat stress possible as cattle and buffalo had mildly elevated respiratory rates during the voyage but there was no panting or gasping.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 48: December 2018; MV Bison Express Fremantle to Huanghua (China); 24 day voyage; 0.14% (2/1477) cattle mortality. Some heat stress noted. Extreme temperature variation - 31 DBT to below 0 at unloading.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 49: December 2018, MV Greyman Express, Darwin to Hai Phong (Vietnam); 9 day voyage (date of discharge given incorrectly as Dec 2019); 0.07% (2/2534) cattle mortality. No details provided of temperature (10am reading only) or cause of mortalities.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 52: December 2018, MV Jawan. Portland to Oman and Pakistan. After travelling a short distance the vessel developed stability issues and returned to the dock in Portland at 6:10am so voyage only a few hours. Cattle unloaded. Date of voyage interesting as this vessel also had stability issues noted twice in November - was this the third attempt?

IO SUMMARY: see report
Media coverage: many reports including VALE blogs (http://www.vale.org.au/blog/wildly-rolling-ship-highlights-the-inherently-risky-business and http://ww.vale.org.au/blog/alec-distances-itself-from-near-capsize-of-the-jawan)

Report 53: December 2018, Fremantle to Vietnam, 16 days,0.02% mortality (2/4335 cattle). Uneventful voyage with no problems detectable from this summary.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report

Reports 54: December 2018; MV Anna Marra ; Darwin to to Indonesia; 13 days; 0.05% (7/15314) cattle mortality. Calving on Day 7. Problems with trough access.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 56: December 2018, MV Yangtze Harmony; Portland to Jing Tang (China); 22 days; 0.25 (10/4975). Conditions ranged from hot and humid (no heat stress reported) through to very cold. Water supply to cattle inadequate on 9 of the 22 days. Constant drainage issues.

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 57: Dec 2018/January 2019, MV Al Shuwaikh; sheep and cattle Fremantle to Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates; 23 days. he livestock (69,917 sheep and 312 cattle); 0.3% (211/69917) sheep mortality sheep; 0% (0/312) cattle mortality. Heat stress in a ME winter voyage with maximum WBT 30. 1 viable lamb on Day 1: ASEL non-compliant

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 59: December 2018, MV Yangtze Fortune; Portland to Rongcheng (China); 20 day voyage; 0.37% (9/2405) cattle mortality. Same unguarded problematic domestic hose fittings with same problems as Report 12 (AMSA? Department?). Rough seas and injuries. Extremes of temperature with -10 on unloading.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 60: January 2019; MV Ganado Express Fremantle to Lianyungang (China); 14 day voyage; 0/1743 cattle mortality. Inadequate antibiotic supplies. Cold conditions in China.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 64: January 2019; MV Gudali Express; Darwin to Jakarta; 7 day voyage; 0/3757 cattle mortality. Max temp 28 WBT. Perfect voyage.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 65: January 2019, MV Ocean Ute; Townsville to Jakarta and Panjang; 14 days; 0.05% (3/6134) cattle mortality. Humidity was often high; max 31°C (wet bulb). No details of temperature monitoring. No mention of heat stress. Problems with mechanical food supply.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 66: January 2019! WOW, a speedy 7 months after the voyage! MV Greyman Express Darwin to Jakarta; 7 days; 0.03% (1/3558) cattle mortality. No concerns noted by IO or VALE.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 76: February 2019, MV Brahman Express; Fremantle to Eilat; 21 day voyage; 0.6% (30/5004) sheep mortality; 0.08% (2/2649) cattle mortality. 21 days of heat stress in sheep. Restricted fodder due to an apparent miscalculation.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: "From the first day of loading in Fremantle with an ambient temperature of 33°C, the sheep exhibited an increased respiratory rate. The increased rate remained throughout the voyage. Temperature and humidity increased on entry into the Red Sea and respiratory rates also increased. However, no sheep were observed with open mouth panting." 21 days of heat stress..on a ME winter voyage.

Report 83: February 2019, MV Gudali Express, Darwin to Jakarta; 7 days; 0.049% (2/4034) cattle mortality. All animals could lie down simultaneously! (rare). Water not always available. Good conditions. No heat stress. Slow discharge. No ASEL issues reported but 1 of the 2 mortalities appears to have been lame on loading (non ASEL compliant if so).

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 84: February 2019, MV Rahmeh, Portland to Quinhuangdao (China); 25 days; 0.06% (4/6386) dairy cattle mortality. Usual China issues: long voyage, extended by weather thus food rationing and extreme temperature variation (even with 11am measurements only). Only IO Report not to list causes of mortalities or to have photos identified by Day Number.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: vale_comment_on_report_84.pdf

Report 90: March 2019; MV Girolando Express; Darwin to Panjang; 7 day voyage; 0.09% (3/3183) cattle mortality. Once daily (9am) temperature monitoring. Perfect voyage apparently and report reads like a marketing brochure for live export.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 93: March 2019, MV Jawan, Port Alma (Rockhampton) to Jakarta; 14 day voyage; 0.07% (4/5684) cattle mortality. Second IO report not to list cause of mortalities and also no details of temperature monitoring. No heat stress. Stockman reported for not recording treatments by ear tag.

IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see document

Report 96: March 2019, MV Ocean Ute, Townsville to Panjang; 14 day voyage; 0/6014 mortality.Minimal details provided including time and frequency of temperature monitoring or the temperatures. Another perfect voyage.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 101: March 2019, MV Brahman Express, Broome to Belawan (Indonesia); 10 day voyage; 0/4118 mortality. 10:30 am temperature monitoring; no details provided. No heat stress noted. Another perfect voyage.

IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 123: May 2019; Al Messilah; Fremantle to Kuwait and United Arab Emirates; 0.16% (99/58,568) sheep mortality and 0/474 cattle mortality; 21 days; record quick time for release of report (3 months!!!) and record low mortalities, the lowest in this ship's 166 voyages AND sheep still suffered severe heat stress with open mouth panting. IO Summary states "There were no animal welfare incidents observed by the observer from loading through to discharge"!

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 127: May/June 2019; MV Maysora Fremantle to Israel/Jordan; 29 day voyage; 0.24% (118/48610) sheep mortality, 0.53% (43/8152) cattle mortality. Heat stress including open mouth panting.

IO Summary: see report
VALE REPORT: see document

Report 192: Oct 2019; Yangtze Harmony, Townsville to Thi Vai (Vietnam); 12 day voyage; 0.06% (2/3,054) cattle mortality. WBT 23-38 and another perfect report.

Report 195: Oct 2019; Ocean Swagman, Portland to Jingtang; 21 day voyage, 0.14% (8/5853) cattle mortality; dairy cattle (Friesian). Summary report: another perfect voyage. No animal welfare issues observed but extremely poor body condition evident in the photos in which "no issues identified". IO competence vs Dept competence/sanitisation?

IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report