Live-ex ships have long been on the drug-trafficking radar for international authorities as they are difficult to search for both personnel and sniffer dogs. Spain has been active in this area and just hit gold with 4.5 TONNES of cocaine from the aging livestock carrier Orion V.
Maritime Executive reports that last week, Spain's National Police and Tax Agency Customs Surveillance Service intercepted the  Orion V at a position about 50 nm to the southwest of the Canary Islands. carrying 1,750 cattle on a voyage from Cartagena to Beirut. The 28 crewmembers were arrested, and the vessel was diverted to port for an inspection. Search teams found 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in the vessel's cattle feed silos. Guess thats one way to head off live-ex vessel financial woes???? But again, it highlights the issues: poor animal welfare, poor human welfare - ONE HEALTH, ONE WELFARE.

ABC reports that  the Yangtze Fortune failed to deliver cattle to China after a crack was discovered it its hull in Sept 2022. The Liberian-flagged ship has been anchored in Portland, in Victoria's south-west, since September 28 last year. A December 2022 judgement by the Federal Court of Australia found the vessel's Chinese owners had abandoned the ship and its crew amid mounting debt owed to creditors. With no food or fuel being provided by its owners, the ship is now under the care of a Federal Court Admiralty Marshal, responsible for vessels after court orders.

At least someone looks after the sailors here...not so for its sister ship, Yangtze Harmony in Singapore which the ITF have likened to a floating prison. The ship was arrested in Singapore in October after its owners failed to pay its debts. In Singapore, unlike Victoria, the crew are  not allowed to shore and cant receive unless there's permission by the authorities. The crew there is "completely abandoned'."

And meanwhile, Splash 24/7 reports that liquidators have been establisheded for  Cattle Line Two, the company which owns two long idle livestock carriers, the Barkly Pearl and Diamantina. The 30-year-old Barkly Pearl (used by Beef Central in 2020 as an example of the livestock industry's world standard vessels!!) ) is currently moored at Batam in Indonesia as is the four-year-younger Diamantina. 

Spare a thought at Christmas for the poor crew of the Yangtze Fortune. Just like the cargo they carry, these men are at the mercy of this greedy (and progressively precarious) industry.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) Australian Inspectorate Coordinator, Ian Bray, said that the more than 30 crew members from the Phillipines had been abandoned by their employer on the stranded Yangtze Fortune. Shipboard documentation shows that the crew received only one third of what they were owed in October, and the crew’s wages payments in both September and August were made using monies set aside for workers’ leave entitlements and the company’s provident fund.

ITF Australia’s Assistant Coordinator, Matt Purcell said that five members of the crew had already clocked up eight months aboard the vessel and were desperate to return home to their families. “These vulnerable, exploited crew face the prospect of spending months longer aboard this ship in dreadful conditions just to get what’s already owed to them, or the choice of returning home after 8 or 9 months away with nothing to show for it,” he said.

Discussions with the crew manager, ship owner and the Flag State have revealed that the company holds little hope of trading out of its financial problems. The crews are at the mercy of the market and will only be paid their full entitlement if the proceeds of sale cover the company’s debts to creditors and the total unpaid wages bill.

Ian Bray said that the Yangtze Fortune is representative of a broader problem in the livestock shipping industry where crews go unpaid and ships operate on the precipice of insolvency.“We believe there is an epidemic of borderline insolvency amongst the operators of these livestock ships as they repeatedly feature among the worst cases in our inspections around Australia and internationally,” Mr Bray said.

Yep, where animal welfare problems exist, human rights issues are usually not far away.

Barkly Pearl expelled by AMSA after being found too deficient to enter Australia. Gulf Livestock 1 insolvent/sunk.  Yangtze Harmony arrested in Singapore. Now Yangtze Fortune arrested in Australia. The pack of cards????

Trade Winds reports that  the Yangtze Fortune, a second livestock carrier managed by Dalian-based Accord Ship Management has been arrested, this time in Australia by the Singapore arm of Danish bunker supplier Dan-Bunkering. Court records indicate that the 11,670-gt Yangtze Fortune (built 2005) was arrested at an anchorage off Portland in New South Wales (NSW? surely Victoria - VALE note) over a bunker bill dispute. Australian livestock exporter UMMS Projects and Livestock and produce exporter Australian Global Exports have both filed caveats against the lifting of the arrest against the ship.

VALE is relieved that this ship with its litany of infrastructure problems that caused so much animal welfare suffering (which was reported over and over and over again to Dept of Ag - who predictably did nothing), is finally off the scene - good riddance!

Australia’s independent live export monitoring program has weakened significantly since resuming from a Covid-related pause. The Guardian reported that Senate estimates heard last month that just five observers had been sent on ships between May and September. Yet during  that period, there were a total of 85 live export voyages, 38 of which were eligible for independent monitoring. Eleven of the 38 eligible ships went to China, where ongoing Covid restrictions prevented observers from boarding. Others reasons were that there was “insufficient cabin space” or that “there isn’t space available, because something is happening on the vessel”, ....most convenient it would seem with any excuse of "something" being good enough.

Anyhow, 3/5 IO Summaries are up - 2 were seemingly perfect cattle voyages, albeit on one ship, a stockperson couldnt diagnose most of the causes of death (no surprises, they dont have vet training and Dept has ignored VALE's request for a vet on every ship made now for 10 years). However, what is worse is the Depts assessment and responses of observations on the Al Messilah - up to 5% of sheep with open mouth panting but that was OK because if the sheep were scared (ie with humans coming close), they shut their mouths for a while....really???? did no-one in the Dept have to study any fundamentals of animal behaviour (not to mention pathophysiology of heat stress)?? So its same old, same old, with Dept cover up or incompetence and... heat stress occurring in May as predicted by the AVA Report in 2018 - sheep shouldnt be sailing between May and October!

An ABC investigation has revealed the owner of a ship that sank in a typhoon two years ago, killing 41 people, had repeated safety concerns flagged by maritime authorities and may have been operating while insolvent, according to auditors. However for all the investigation, there is still no official report available from Panama into the tragedy and still no answers (despite the Chief Officer surviving!) as to why the captain decided to run the typhoon whilst all others ships sheltered. The  tragedy for the family of the sailors, stockmen and the Australian vet is that they still have no explanations..just loss and more airing of the typically dirty laundry of this filthy trade.

The photos reveal a rusty old ship. The videos reveal it was no better condition onboard than externally. A Deloitte financial report in late September 2020, shows the company was likely in no better shape than the ship and may have been insolvent at the time of the tragedy. And all this is from the business that our farmers, Ag Depts and governments spruik as the being the best regulated in the world. Sure it is...but clearly the bar hasnt been set very high.

One of the livestock carriers used frequently in the Australian live export trade is now under arrest in Singapore. This ship has been plagued with ship issues and unfavorable Independent Observer reports (see below). Its sister ship, the Yangtze Fortune had even more and was the subject of a concerns letter raised by VALE with the Dept (see Govt Correspondence). The Dept never acted of course (the trade must go on!) and these two ships have continually been allowed to trade despite repeated issues resulting in poor animal welfare. It is indeed good news that something has forced the removal of one of these ships from the Australian live ex trade. So Al Shuwaikh, Barkly Pearl, Bader and Maysora all gone from Australia and now Yangtze Harmony....the more the better.

VALE's SUMMARY OF INDEPENDENT OBSERVER REPORTS FROM YANGTZE HARMONY
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. No vet.
IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
MEDIA COMMENT: see live-sheep-export-row-hits-cattle-ship-that-fails-inspection-leaving-fremantle

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
VALE COMMENT: see document
RELEVANT SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: see Voyage B in attached document

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. AMSA notified. No vet.
IO SUMMARY REPORT: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 91: March 2019; MV Yangtze Harmony; Townsville to Panjang (10 days); to Jakarta (12 days); 0.02% (1/4,983) cattle mortality; major issues with food and water delivery due to poor infrastructure (see also Report 16). 1 person to 8 decks overnight. No vet.
IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 103: March 2019; MV Yangtze Harmony; Townsville to Jakarta and Panjang; 11 days; 0.13% (6/4693) cattle mortality. 20% pens overstocked. Mild heat stress. No vet.
IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: ~20% pens were not compliant with the ASEL minimum space requirements for the class and weight of the cattle transported. Cattle in these  pens worked harder to access feed and water with less room to move or lie down. The stockperson readjusted numbers in tight pens early in the voyage when these were brought to his attention by the IO! Bos indicus tolerated heat.  Two Bos taurus type animals in good condition on Deck 4 were observed from time to time with slightly increased respiratory rate due to hot temperatures and heat from a nearby air conditioning vent.

Report 126: May/June 2019; MV Yantze Harmony; Portland to Fremantle to Russia (45 days for 2,518 cattle) & 39 days for 1,135 cattle (ex Fremantle); 0.08% (3/3,653) cattle mortality; fodder competition between two unspecified cattle classes noted. Possibly mild heat stress. Vet onboard.
IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: Around the equatorial region 28°C wet bulb and mild increasse in RR noted (unspecified). IO stated that no signs of heat stress were observed. Then increased temperature and humidity (no details) were experienced around the Eastern Mediterranean through to the final discharge at the port in Russia with apparently no heat stress but increased water consumption, enough to affect pad negatively.

Report 180: Sept 2019; MV Yangtze Harmony;  Townsville to Thi Vai (Vietnam); 15 days;  0.25% (7/2,836) cattle mortality. 4 heavy bulls had heat stress otherwise apparently perfect. No vet.
IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: see report

Report 192: Oct 2019; MV Yangtze Harmony, Townsville to Thi Vai (Vietnam); 12 day voyage; 0.06% (2/3,054) cattle mortality. WBT 23-28 and another perfect report. No vet.
IO SUMMARY: see report

Report 198: Nov 2019; MV Yangtze Harmony; Fremantle to Huanghua (China); 18 days; 0.11% (3/2,618) cattle mortality. Low density voyage with dairy cows. Apparently perfect with no heat stress reported. No vet onboard
IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: DBT: 15 and 33 °C, max humidity 85% and no WBT provided. Prolonged hot period at the equatorial zone, but this did not appear to have an adverse effect on the cattle apparently (no RR etc provided).

Report 209: Dec 2019;  MV Yangtze Harmony; Fremantle to Vietnam; 11 days; 0.43% (13/3005) cattle mortality. Wash down a disaster. Food and water deprivation. No AAV.
IO SUMMARY: see report
VALE COMMENT: Some cattle did not have access to feed and water for up to 7 hours as the feed and water troughs were removed from the pens during the wash down. Apparently no adverse animal welfare issues? BUT.."the hosing down of the pen floor during wash down on decks 6 to 8 was noted to frighten some older cattle, causing them to jam against the rails resulting in some injuries. The affected cattle manifested a stress response in the form of elevated pant score of 1 to 3. The elevated pant score was not associated with any heat stress event [and no doubt having no water was no problem during this time....or was that on another deck???]... Approximately 80% of the cattle on Decks 6 to 8 were observed to have a pant score of 3 with open mouth breathing for a duration of 30 minutesto 2 hours following the wash down. During wash down, a total of 13 cattle received injuries, or developed pneumonia following wash down. Of these, 8 did not recover from and were euthanased prior to discharge." Impressive animal welfare all round

Cem Özdemir, Germany’s Agriculture Minister has today announced an end to the export of animals – whether for slaughter or breeding – from Germany to the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. 'We can no longer watch animals suffer and die in agony on long journeys." said Minister Cem Özdemirc

While exporting animals to be killed for their meat has already stopped, animals used for breeding were still being exported. Today's news closes that final loophole and will spare many thousands of cows, sheep, and goats from suffering in the live export trade. There is also an intention to address the loophole that would see German animals transported from other EU countries.

Germany is the first EU country to make this bold move for animals. Congratulations GERMANY.

See: https://www.algoafm.co.za/entertainment/live-export-historic-win-for-animals-in-germany

Since the Awassi Express expose, the animal welfare community have been largely focused on sheep export. The Dept of Ag has had endless reviews requiring submissions, and has obfuscated and obstructed numerous enquiries. The uphsot has been  deflected attention from the ongoing issues in the live export cattle.

In 2020, VALE published a report on the Cattle Voyages to China (Hing et al 2021) and tried to chase up information under Freedom of Information on Independent Observer Report 197. This tied VALE up for months (no doubt intentional) and VALE missed some of the high mortality investigations reports for the northern cattle trade. It is most notable, that the ever so transparent Department of Agriculture, who refute any sanitisation or lack of transparency, now refers to high mortality voyages as "notifiable incidents" - what a marvellous PR-directed euphemism.

VALE's updated analysis for HIGH MORTALITY VOYAGES is now up. VALE has not been able to update the IO Report section of its website because none of the 2022 IO Summaries have been published and there is no information as to how many are pending....

28th Sept 2022 was a day for the diary as NZ Parliament voted to ban live export. Exports of livestock by sea will stop on 30 April 2023. And the reason? Minister O'Connor stated that  commitment to high welfare standards "has already shown its value where animal welfare discussions have been brought up in Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom and the European Union. This Bill reinforces and builds on New Zealand’s reputation as a safe and ethical producer of high-quality food products. It protects the reputation of not just our farmers now but, the farmers of the future who want to commit to livestock farming assured that we are the best managers of animal welfare and producers of ethical animal protein for the world,” Damien O’Connor said. They are sure one-up on Australia which continues to export, despite admitting in Export Advisory Notice 2022/20 that "regulatory settings introduced in 2020 reduced, but did not eliminate, the risk of heat stress for sheep exported to the Middle East"