Suez Canal Blockage Affects Livestock Carriers
At least 20 ships carrying livestock were caught up in the Suez Canal blockage, according to marine tracking data. Giant cargo ship Ever Given ran aground March 23 while attempting to cross through the canal and was dislodged on Monday, March 29.
The vessel tracking website Marine Traffic identified at least 11 vessels that were carrying cattle, sheep, and other livestock, while Australia-based NGO Animals International added another nine to the list, according to The Guardian.
Authorities said the animals on board the ships are free from danger at the moment, but the longer the delay the more problems can pile up. Livestock ships generally carry enough feed and water for an extra week at sea as a precaution.
Peter Stevenson, chief policy officer at Compassion in World Farming, told Bloomberg that he “wouldn’t expect just after a two-day delay for a problem to have built up. It’s as time goes by that the problems get worse. Occasionally, there are real scandals when things go wrong, but it’s a day-to-day horror.”
“My greatest fear is that animals run out of food and water and they get stuck on the ships because they cannot be unloaded somewhere else for paperwork reasons,” he added.
More than 18,800 ships with a net tonnage of 1.17 billion tonnes passed through the canal during 2020. That's an average of 51.5 ships per day.
