40 Crew And 6000 Cows Feared Drowned As Yet Another Panama Flagged Ship

In the third major incident involving a Panama-flagged vessel in a month, 40 crew were feared drowned when their large ship, the Gulf Livestock 1 sunk on Wednesday 2 September. By Friday, a third survivor had been found. The vessel had been caught up in Typhoon Maysak off the coast of Japan when travelling between New Zealand and China. Rescued members described a loss of propulsion in the storm amid reports that the vessel had a track record of engine troubles. Three survivors have now been rescued from tough, stormy conditions. The first survivor had been visibly distressed upon learning he may be the only survivor. A second had survived in a life raft following some very challenging weather conditions, and the third was found on Friday after being spotted by Japanese search and rescue plane. The Japanese coastguard said on Friday that three vessels, four planes and two divers were taking part in the search for the 40 crew members who are still missing. The Gulf Livestock 1 ship was carrying 5867 cows for breeding in China. In images that shocked animal rights campaigners, New Zealand has immediately announced the suspension of all livestock transfers by ship. The New Zealand’s leading animal rights charity, SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation) said the tragedy demonstrated the risks of the live animal export trade. “These cows should never have been at sea,” said SAFE’s campaigns manager, Marianne Macdonald. “This is a real crisis, and our thoughts are with the families of the 43 crew who are missing with the ship. But questions remain, including why this trade is allowed to continue.”A statement from New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), which governs exports, said it had “temporarily suspended consideration of cattle livestock export applications after a vessel transporting stock from New Zealand to China went missing off the coast of Japan. MPI wants to understand what happened on the sailing of the Gulf Livestock 1.”A spokesperson from New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed that the Gulf Livestock 1, registered under a Panama flag, is owned by Gulf Navigation Holding, based in the United Arab Emirates and that it left Napier in New Zealand on 14 August and was bound for Jingtang in Tangshan, China, on a journey that should have taken 17 days. A spokesperson for the European Maritime Safety Agency said the Gulf Livestock 1 was built in 2002, is 18 years old and has often been inspected. The spokesperson said that although “deficiencies were found almost every time, it was only detained once on 22 May 2019 in Australia.”This comes as a second, potentially larger, Typhoon Haisen now passes through the same area of the Gulf Livestock 1 sinking, making the search operation more complicated. This incident comes in the same week as an oil supertanker is on fire and drifting out of control off the coast of Sri Lanka.

#livestock #newsusa #newsworldnow #newstodayupdate #newstodaycnn #newstodaymsnbc #