Thousands of animals are trapped on ships stranded by the Ever Given grounding in the Suez Canal

Of all the millions of tons of cargo that pile up in the Suez Canal, none are more delicate than the animals crammed into the hulls of various ships.

Little information is available as neither canal officials nor shipping industry executives are ready to speak, but data compiled by Bloomberg indicates that up to 10 ships stuck in and around the canal could carry thousands of heads of livestock.. Considering the route from Europe to Saudi Arabia, they will most likely take sheep. Seven of the vessels bound for Jordan carry 92,000 head of cattle on board.

While most lost cargoes are goods, such as petroleum, which can be stored on ships for long periods of time, livestock need food and water, and these deliveries usually only take a few more days. This could create a critical situation for ships to find food at a local port or force them to turn around. The eviction of the vessel blocking the canal could take at least a week, longer than initially expected, people familiar with the matter said.

“I wouldn’t expect that after a two-day delay, a problem would have built up,” said Peter Stevenson, head of policy at animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming, who called for an end. shipments of live animals. “It is over time that the problems get worse. From time to time there are real scandals when things go wrong, but it is a daily horror ”.

Cattle can also be transported by sea, and ships often carry hay or extra food for two or three daysaccording to Bob Bishop, president of the Cattle Exporters Association of America. If there are no more, they could get more in a port while they refuel. A vessel that cannot make it to the dock could be fed by a barge in what is known as “intermediate cargo,” he said.

Seven cattle ships which were due to arrive in Aqaba on March 21 are stranded near the Suez Canal, Captain George Dahdal, representative of the Jordanian Maritime Union, said by phone.

“If he runs out of food, I would look to get into the harbor and add some extra food,” Bishop said by phone from New York. “If I were the owner of the sheep, I would try to find a country that needs sheep,” he added. “The shortest way would be to go back to Romania.”

At least 10 vessels designed to transport animals are stationed near the closed canal, and several appear to be en route between Romania and Saudi Arabia, according to ship data compiled by Bloomberg. Those leaving the European country are likely carrying sheep, which Saudi Arabia buys for the animals to be slaughtered according to their religious preferences. Those traveling the other way could be empty ships.

The Middle Eastern country is by far the world’s largest importer of sheep, according to United Nations data. But the trade route has sometimes faced disasters. Some 14,000 sheep shipped from Romania to Saudi Arabia were killed when a ship partially capsized in 2019, media reported at the time. Rescuers were only able to save just over 200 animals.

Ships crowding thousands of sheep and longer voyages increase risk of illness and stresssaid Stevenson of the animal welfare group. Some ships used to transport animals have also been converted for other purposes and are not the most suitable, he said. It can be difficult to turn around after departure due to health regulations.

Bishop said livestock death rates are generally no higher at sea than on land, and most ships have a veterinarian.

According to Bishop, an American shipment of dairy cattle left the Texan port of Galveston late last year for Pakistan via Suez. Another recent shipment of American cattle left the west coast for Pakistan, avoiding the Suez due to tolls, he said.

“After this container ship, we could see more and more of it,” he said.

With information from Bloomberg

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