27/3/21 – I was hoping that I would not need to write this; especially after the farce involving the EU and animals in transport recently, but there is now another problem yet regarding live animals in maritime shipment, as before.  I will try to summarise from the information we currently have.

We all know about the very recent issues regarding the Karim Allah and the Elbeik which carried livestock for over 3 months; unable to find a port that would accept them – scroll here to see all the posts – Live Transport – World Animals Voice

Livestock vessels currently use the Suez Canal (Egypt) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal  to get from the Mediterranean Sea into the Red Sea when going to the Middle East.  The Suez is a small, narrow waterway.

In the past week, a huge 220,000 tonne container carrying ship called the ‘Ever Given’ managed to get jammed in the Canal; thereby blocking off access all other ships following behind.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Suez_Canal_obstruction

Amongst these ships were several livestock carrying vessels; probably 8; Vessels Jersey, Unimar Livestock, Omega Star, Harmony Livestock, Dragon, Lady Maria, Sea Star Livestock, and Gemma star.

Some of these can be seen on one of our recent posts:  England: A Snapshot of the Maritime Livestock Trade – Vessels Currently Shipping Live Animals Around the World. A Disgusting Animal Abuse Issue. – World Animals Voice

All of them left from either Midia (Romania) or Cartagena (Spain).  We have no confirmation at this time, but suspect that the vessels from Romania were carrying sheep (Romania is a big sheep producing nation); and probably cattle being transported from from Spain.  Because of the number of livestock carrying ships involved, and the numbers of animals each are carrying; it is currently impossible to give an overall total for the numbers of animals involved in this crisis. But it will be in the ‘many thousands’.

By Friday 26/3, the maritime traffic jam had grown to more than 200 ships outside the Suez Canal, all affected by this one ship blockade.  With massive international pressure growing to resolve the issue, as well as the huge financial involvement of cargoes carried, the megaship’s owners, Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, said 10 tugboats had been deployed to attempt free it.

So, the current situation is that many livestock ships with animals on board are literally stranded in the Suez Canal.  Word from London today (27/3) is that a possible ‘free up and re float’ of the ‘Ever Given’ may take place very soon.  Knowing the situation on the Karim Allah and the Elbeik regarding lack of food and water; we naturally have concerns for the welfare of all animals carried on all the ships.

27/3 – I have checked all ship positions today, it has taken some research time, but I can confirm the following:

Vessel ‘Jersey’ – – registered Togo – en route to Jordan – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Unimar Livestock’ – registered Togo – en route to Jeddah – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Omega Star’ – no details

Vessel ‘Harmony Star’ – sailing under flag of Tanzania – en route to As Suways / Suez Port, Egypt.

Vessel ‘Dragon’ – sailing under the flag of Togolese Rep. – en route to Jordan – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Lady Maria’ – en route to the port of Jeddah – Waiting in Med Sea at entrance to Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Sea Star Livestock’ – en route to As Suways / Suez Port, Egypt – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Gemma Star’ – no details.

So as you can see with so many large livestock carriers; problems to say the least !

Some of these vessels have been stuck for around 4-5 days now at least.

I hope this gives a small insight into livestock transportation by sea; and the mega problems (feed and watering etc) that just one incident such as this can bring.  Many of these vessels are heading to the Middle East where animals will be ritually slaughtered without any prior stunning.

This is all fuel to our fire in our work to get live animal exports stopped.

Regards Mark

WAV Comment:  I really wish I had an ounce of faith that all these Euro Yukspeak words actually meant something; but I completely lost faith in the Eurojargon about better animal welfare many years ago.  For me, over 30 years of live animal transportation investigations and experiences may have had something to do with the loss of faith in ‘the EU systems’ that ‘protect’ animals, in this case, during transport – EU Reg 1/2005 for the ‘protection of animals during transport’:  https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/621853/EPRS_STU(2018)621853_EN.pdf

So now ‘the countdown is officially on’ ?

Now they talk about 7 key demands – and for so long over the years we have heard from the very same people about we the ‘five freedoms’ which should have applied to all animals within the EU:

The Five Freedoms include:

• Freedom from Hunger and Thirst. By ready access to fresh water and diet to maintain health and vigour.
• Freedom from Discomfort. …
• Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease. …
• Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour. …
• Freedom from Fear and Distress.

These Five Freedoms are globally recognized as the gold standard in animal welfare, encompassing both the mental and physical well-being of animals; and the five freedoms have existed within EU strategy (on paper anyway) for quite a long time.

With so much undercover footage being presented to the EU over the years from farms, slaughterhouses, animals in transport, etc, by welfare organisations, showing failures across all the 5 freedoms, I guess we can say that the EU does not practice what it preaches. 

Yet here we are being told that there will be 7 key demands that will ‘shed light on the failures and poor enforcement of the current animal welfare legislation and call on the European Commission to commit to revising the entire legislation, leaving no animal behind’.

I really hope that no animal is ‘left behind’; but as I say, with a few years experience, and running animal welfare websites since 2005, cynical me thinks this is simply another stalling tactic by the EU simply because certain member states are not enforcing the regulations.  Romania and the sheep transporting ship which overturned leaving Midia – Romania: Secret Decks of Sheep On The ‘Queen Hind’ Which Sank at Midia ??. We Still Wait For EU Action and the Report Promised by the Romanian Government. – World Animals Voice  – February 2021, and still we have no answers !  So much for 5 freedoms, let alone 7 key demands !

The EU lost the plot on all this ‘animal welfare stuff’ many, many years ago; and I think the very recent incidents relating to the livestock carriers ‘Karim Allah’ and the ‘Elbeik’; where live animals were shipped around the Med for over 3 months, just shows what a complete and utter farce the whole EU ‘animal welfare’ thing is.   And I mean; have a look at just 2 of our past posts:

Spain: 10/3/21 – All Animals On The ‘Karim Allah’ Have Now Been Murdered By The Spanish Authorities After 3 Months at Sea. The Reality of Live Exports. – World Animals Voice

Togo: Live Animal Transport: Elbeik Still At Sea with 1700 Animals and Over 100 Feared Dead – Expected to Dock In Cartagena, Spain Tonight. ‘Karim Allah’ Killing Team Still In Cartegena. What Happens Later ? – World Animals Voice

Do not have any trust in the EU and its yukspeak, because that is exactly what it is – Yukspeak; or to put it another way; a means to further investigate, delay any action and produce yet more endless reports on what is the bloody obvious, and which everyone in the animal welfare lobby has known about and has been shouting about, and providing substantial evidence on for decades.

The EU is an over inflated no good – if it had any intentions of promoting animal welfare, then it would have acted a damn site more on animal transport legislation alone when we first saw the 1/2005 of that year come into force.  They failed then, they fail now, and they will continue to fail in the future.  Sadly, as always; it is the innocent animals that are the pawns, and who suffer as a result.

Regards Mark.

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