News agency Bloomberg has undertaken an in-depth investigation into the September 2020 sinking of livestock carrier Gulf Livestock 1 (IMO 9262883). It said that, for the families of the seafarers lost, it had been a continuing story of “hope and sadness”, with some families mounting their own SAR efforts. Many still want more information on precisely what went wrong.
The Gulf Livestock 1 was sailing from New Zealand to China with 43 crew and approximately 6,000 dairy cattle onboard when it capsized in the East China Sea during Typhoon Maysak in early September 2020.
During the evening of September 1st the Gulf Livestock 1 lost power. Two crew, Australian William Mainprize and New Zealander Scott Harris, communicated the danger to their families and friends on messaging apps, reports Bloomberg. “At least two decks completely washed out,” Harris texted. Mainprize texted a friend that “engine control room is taking on water. Engine is off and we are floating sideways in huge sea”.
The ship capsized and 40 of the crew members were missing presumed dead (IMN September 4th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 14th, 2020, and subsequent dates).
The Australian veterinary organisation Vets Against Live Export (VALE) told Bloomberg that the investigator found an email from the captain just before the vessel arrived in New Zealand, in which he asked what to do about the AMSA generator (mandatory for live export from Australia to ensure back up power) because it was not working.
The incident was a high-profile tragedy, with livestock carriers already subject to sustained protests by several groups on land, which had described the conditions in which animals were transported in many cases as unnecessary and cruel.
The 12,000 gt Gulf Livestock 1 capsized on Wednesday September 2nd 2020 in severe weather in the East China Sea. The vessel sent a distress call from the west of Amami Oshima island in southwestern Japan on Wednesday as Typhoon Maysak headed through the region towards the Korean peninsula.
The ship caught in the centre of typhoon Maysak with winds gusting up to 130 knots. The vessel’s final AIS transmission was early afternoon on September 1st, showing the ship adrift 185 km west of Amami Oshima. That evening a patrol aircraft located a lifeboat, but there were no people inside.
Japan’s coastguard said that the one crew member rescued was Sareno Edvarodo, the vessel’s chief officer, from the Philippines. He said that when the ship capsized the crew were instructed to put on lifejackets. Edvarodo told the coastguard he jumped into the water, but that he did not see any other crew members before he was rescued.
The crew included 39 people from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and two from Australia.
The Gulf Livestock 1 had departed Napier in New Zealand on August 14th with a cargo of 5,867 cattle, bound for the Port of Jingtang in Tangshan, China. The journey was expected to take about 17 days.
Built in 2002, the vessel was converted from a container ship into a livestock carrier in 2012. It had a varied history. According to Balticshipping.com Its former names and flags were:
- Rahmeh (2019, Panama)
- Rahme (2018, Panama)
- Cetus J (2013, Cyprus)
- Dana Hollandia (2012, Cyprus)
- Maersk Waterford (2006).
Balticshipping.com said that the vessel was built by Detlef Hegemann Rolandwerft GmbH & co KG of Berne, Germany.
The Panama Maritime Authority, acting as the flag state of the vessel, produced a report into the incident in 2022. However, the families of the two lost Australians told 7News in 2023 that the report, which had not at the time been made public, “ticked boxes but did nothing to detail what happened to the ship in the storm and did not touch on known problems with the vessel in the lead-up to the sinking.”
An ABC investigation revealed that, in the 18 months prior to the vessel’s sinking, Indonesian and Australian authorities had recorded dozens of safety breaches onboard, including critical failures of its propulsion and navigations systems, as well as issues relating to vessel stability.
During a voyage more than a year before the sinking, in July 2019, the livestock carrier had drifted for 25 hours while it underwent repairs following an engine failure (IMN July 21st 2023).
From its days as a small containership (the Maersk Waterford), it moved to Cyprus and then to Dubai, with its flag state also changing, ending up in Panama. At the time Reuters reported that the registered owner was Amman, Jordan-based Rahmeh Compania Naviera SA. The extent to which Rahmeh was the beneficial owner was less clear.
2002-built, Panama-flagged, 11,947 gt Gulf Livestock 1 was owned by Gulf Navigation Livestock 1 Ltd care of manager Hijazi & Ghosheh Co of Amman, Jordan. ISM manager was Marconsult Schiffahrt GmbH of Hamburg, Germany. It was entered with West of England (Greece Claims team) on behalf of Gulf Navigation Livestock Carrier 1 Ltd, Inc.