Livestock bound for Israel to be taken off ship
TotalEnergies no longer sending ships through Red Sea
CANBERRA/PARIS (Reuters) – Around 15,500 sheep and cattle aboard a ship that turned back from the Red Sea due to the risk of attack off Yemen will disembark in Australia but likely be put on another vessel in the coming weeks and exported, a farm group said.
The livestock have been on board the MV Bahijah for more than a month, prompting an outcry from animal rights advocates who say their treatment is cruel.
The vessel left Australia on January 5 for Israel but was ordered home and arrived back in Australian waters late last month during an ongoing heatwave.
Passage through the Red Sea has become perilous due to attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Houthi terrorist group, an Iranian-backed proxy.
The Australian government on Monday denied a request by the exporter to offload some animals and send the rest to Israel around Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a 33-day journey.
The Bahijah is waiting while another livestock carrier loads at Perth’s Fremantle port, and the animals are unlikely to disembark until Saturday at the earliest, said Geoff Pearson, head of livestock at farm group WAFarmers.
The animals – around 14,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle – will be transported from Perth into quarantine, as required by Australia’s biosecurity laws.
“Re-export is the preferred option,” Pearson said, adding that the animals were unlikely to return to port immediately.
He said the government had refused to allow the journey to Israel because animal rights groups there had begun court proceedings to block an import permit for the animals.
The Agriculture Ministry did not comment.
Another livestock vessel left Australia last week for Jordan’s Aqaba port but could divert to the Gulf if the threat of attack from Yemen is too great.
TotalEnergies has not sent ships through the southern strait leading to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal for several weeks, extending its ships’ travel time to Europe, the French oil major said on Wednesday.
The Bab el Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea has been disrupted by Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, driving up freight costs and restricting traffic.
CEO Patrick Pouyanne said that the costs of going through the Red Sea have gone up, partly due to higher insurance costs.
“The conflict between the Houthis and the US-led coalition is having a significant impact on the region. So we’re careful and are no longer crossing the Red Sea,” Pouyanne said.