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 9 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 that “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”.
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