A cargo ship carrying 5,867 cattle and 43 crew capsized off Japan. UAE-based Gulf Navigation owned Panamanian flagged 450 feet Gulf Livestock 1 sent a distress call near Amami Oshima Island in southwestern Japan after Category 4 storm Typhoon Maysak battered the region with winds up to 160 kilometers per hour. The ship's engine failed as it was hit by a wave, causing it to capsize. One of the boat’s engines had stalled and the vessel was overturned by a powerful wave before eventually sinking. Dead cows from the boat have also been seen in the waves. Horrific images have emerged showing water pouring into the doomed Gulf Livestock 1 which has not been seen since it sailed into a typhoon. The images show panicked crew members, battling to keep the ship afloat while water starts to pool at their feet. Japanese authorities have been racing to find dozens of missing sailors. A first survivor 45 year old Filipino chief officer was found on Wednesday evening, with the body of a second crew member recovered at sea early Friday. Coast guard found a second survivor on Friday afternoon, a 30-year-old Filipino man, who was spotted in a life raft several kilometers from Kodakarajima, a remote island in southwestern Japan. The man, identified as a deckhand, was reached by a patrol boat and was alone in the raft. The rescue effort was initially hampered by rough seas, strong winds and torrential rain. Rescuers have also spotted the dead bodies of dozens of cattle floating in the ocean near the areas where the men were found, along with a bundle of orange rope and part of another lifejacket bearing the ship’s name. Aircraft, boats and divers continue to scour the ocean.The ship had left Napier Port in New Zealand on 14 August loaded with 5,867 cattle and 43 crew, 39 from the Philippines, 2 from Australia and 2 from New Zealand. It was headed to the port of Jingtan in Tangshan in China, with the journey expected to take 17 days. The ship was technically managed and crewed by Germany's Marconsult Schiffarht GMBH, while the commercial manager is Jordan-based Hijazi & Ghosheh Co.A spokesperson for Maritime New Zealand said standard safety surveys were undertaken on the Gulf Livestock 1 both on arrival at and departure from Napier port, including inspections of livestock carriers and pens and no irregularities or issues were notedA December inspection report from Indonesian authorities logged issues with the ship's propulsion and auxiliary machinery. The issues included deficiencies with the propulsion main engine and gauges, thermometers. A 2019 report by the Australian government on the cattle ship's transit in June from Australia to Indonesia noted the vessel's departure was delayed for a week because of stability and navigation issues identified by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Gulf Livestock 1 was detained by the Australian authorities for three days in May 2019, because of issues related to its navigation Electronic Chart Display and Information System. The report cited both a lack of up-to-date charts and training for officers using the system.A report on the website of FleetMon, a German-based maritime tracking site, shows the ship, under its previous name of Rahmeh, anchored off the Turkish coast in September 2018 to fix a mechanical problem that required the delivery of spare parts. The FleetMon report also noted some concern from local residents about the ship's extended stay at Cesme port, because livestock on a previous voyage had been found to be infected with anthrax.The sinking brought added scrutiny onto shipping livestock by sea. New Zealand on Thursday suspended all live exports. After thousands of exported animals died in transit last year, New Zealand's government launched a review into live animal exports, an industry worth around NZD 54 million a year. Nearly 40,000 cattle have been exported so far this year, Animals rights activists say the move did not go far enough because the transnational livestock trade is rife with abuses. New Zealand based animal welfare group Save Animals has demanded a ban on live export. It said “On 3 September, the Ministry for Primary Industries announced it has temporarily suspended live exports of cattle. This temporary ban needs to be made permanent. This disaster has highlighted the incredible risks both human and animal lives are put in on live export ships. We need to ensure this never happens again. Ultimately, this is a trade that has to be banned.”
#BanLivestockExport #SAFEnewzealand #AnimalsAus
