In the East China Sea, the livestock transport ship Gulf Livestock 1 capsized and sank during a severe storm. Forty-three crew members and nearly 6,000 calves died. One crew member was rescued. The ship was carrying almost 6,000 cattle from New Zealand to China.
On Wednesday, the Gulf Livestock 1 sent out a distress call west of Amami Oshima island as a typhoon battered the area with strong winds and heavy seas. The crew consisted of 39 men from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and two from Australia.
The Gulf Livestock 1 departed Napier, New Zealand on August 14 carrying a load of 5,867 cattle bound for the port of Jingtang in Tangshan, China. Officials from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Reuters that the journey was expected to take about 17 days.
The 139-meter-long, Panama-flagged ship was built in 2002, and the registered owner is Rahmeh Compania Naviera SA, based in Amman. The cargo of young cows was exported by Australasian Global Exports, headquartered in Australia, which specializes in live animal exports and operates its own quarantine facilities in China.
The New Zealand animal rights organization SAFE responded, stating that the disaster once again highlights the risks of exporting live animals. "These cows should never have been at sea given such weather forecasts," said campaign leader Marianne Macdonald.
According to Chinese customs data, China has so far this year imported more than 46,000 head of cattle from New Zealand, mainly to supply the growing number of Chinese dairy farms.
Last year, New Zealand already limited its live animal export trade after it was revealed that thousands of animals exported from New Zealand and Australia died during transport. The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said it has now temporarily suspended applications for live animal export permits following the sinking of the livestock transport ship. When they will resume is not yet clear.