Open letter sent to EU Commissioner
March 13, 2025
Israel
Against Live Shipments
An open letter signed by several NGOs has been
sent to the European Commission and Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare,
Olivér Várhelyi about a “deeply concerning” situation on a livestock carrier.
Livestock vessel Express M encountered
several issues at sea that led to significant delays in its journey, resulting
in “great suffering” to the nearly 3,000 animals onboard.
The vessel departed from Romania for Haifa on
February 22 and reached its destination on March 9, fifteen days after it set
off when the crossing should have taken no longer than six, according to
Eurogroup For Animals.
At one point the vessel seemed to be going back
to Romania but then it changed course again. After this had been going on for
nine days Ethical Farming Ireland (EFI) contacted the Romanian authorities and
found out that the vessel’s engine broke down due to some mechanical problems
and that the captain was instructed to return the vessel to port.
However, the transporter’s representative
contacted the captain who confirmed that the necessary repairs were carried out
and that sufficient feed was onboard, supplemented in Istanbul.
“The necessary repairs clearly were not carried
out – the vessel went to anchor on two more occasions after that,” EFI said.
The 1983-built Express M, owned by
UAE-based Naseem Al Bahar General and managed by Greece’s Hellas Shipping
Management, has had a history of issues. In 2020 the vessel came to Ireland to
collect cattle but was detained at Belview Port Waterford due to a number of
deficiencies. The Irish authorities revoked the certificate of approval and it
left empty. There have been four other detentions in recent years, the latest
in December 2024.
The letter to the EC Commissioner has called on
him to look into the incident, with the Irish animal welfare campaigners and
other NGOs stressing that the latest case demonstrated that live animal
transport by sea is inherently unsafe and must be phased out as a matter of
urgency in the ongoing revision of the transport regulation.
“These sea journeys are too risky and should be
banned. We cannot guarantee the safety of animals once they have left our
shores and time and time again serious incidents occur, where thousands of
animals are stranded at sea, suffering appallingly. The condition of the
animals arriving at Haifa port was very poor – footage shows animals completely
caked in manure, there is a lot of nasal discharge and ringworm,” EFI said,
adding: “This particular case was made worse because the crew were not prepared
for such a long journey as it took more than twice as long as was scheduled.”
Adis Ajdin
Adis is an experienced news reporter with a
background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum
of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of
International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo
media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine
Energy.
