(3 Minutes Read)
The 190-metre-long Kuwaiti-flagged livestock vessel, docked in Cape Town which blanketed the port city with unbearable foul stench departed the city for its final destination in Iraq. According to the Marine Traffic website, the vessel, originating from Brazil, made a stopover in Cape Town to load feed for the cattle.
Upon boarding, authorities discovered cattle living in their filth, among dead or sick animals. The stench permeated the city. Advocacy groups denounce the deplorable conditions of such livestock transport. While the stopover in Cape Town provided a brief respite, the animals were not out of danger.
It’s a continuing nightmare cruise for these distressed animals, forced to endure living in beds of excrement. The Al Kuwait ship has set sail again towards Iraq, where the cattle will undergo ritual slaughter, hence the necessity to transport them alive… or barely so. Making a stop at Cape Town’s port for refuelling, the ship underwent inspection.
Animal welfare organizations and veterinarians spent three days on this hellish vessel. Some tended to the cattle, others euthanized them. However, cleaning the unsanitary ship laden with dung and carcasses was impossible. Discharging these waste materials would have posed a pollution problem in Cape Town’s port, already affected by the foul odor permeating the city, reminiscent of a sewage treatment plant.
Consequently, the ship resumed its voyage at sea, where it is expected to discharge its slurry before heading to Iraq. “This incident is a stark reminder that the export of live animals by sea is a horrific and outdated practice,” reacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which circulated photos from inside the ship to underscore its point.
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A large number of livestock-carrying ships are also sailing under flags of convenience with poor reputations for ship safety. Out of the 129 ships listed as active, 52 are flying flags from countries currently blacklisted by the port inspection body the Paris MOU, which conducts more than 17,000 inspections on ships every year in ports around the world. In addition, 10 of the companies that own or manage converted vessels built before 1975 are listed as low or very low-performing by the European Maritime Shipping Agency.
