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An Arrowtown man who has made more than 40 ocean voyages in cattle boats says the tragedy off the coast of Japan six days ago is hard to digest.
The unfortunate Gulf Livestock 1 left Napier in mid-August and was heading for the east coast of China with 43 crew members and 5,800 cows on board when it capsized and sank in a storm on September 2.
Two New Zealanders were on board, Southland’s Lochie Bellerby, in his 20s, and father of two Scott Harris, 37. Both are still missing.
JAPAN COAST GUARD
A Filipino crew member from Gulf Livestock 1 is rescued by members of the Japanese Coast Guard.
Arrowtown’s Brent Wallace, who has completed dozens of sea voyages aboard cattle boats over 20 years, said he was saddened for all those affected by the sinking.
READ MORE:
* The search resumes by air and sea for the crew of the cattle boat.
* Texts from the captain in the final moments when a capsized cattle boat sailed straight into the eye of the typhoon
* The family of the missing Southland man in an overturned cattle boat hope he is still alive
* Gulf Livestock 1: Mother of Man Missing After Cattle Ship Wrecked Wants Government Answers
He said the tragedy “hits pretty deep” because he had worked with many Filipino workers on other cattle boats over the years and they always sacrificed a lot for their families.
Supplied / None
Brent Wallace (left) with a vet in Saudi Arabia about a decade ago, after traveling from Australia on a cattle boat.
“Fantastic guys … happy people, and they’re on those ships to give their wives, their kids, and their parents a better life.”
Wallace believed that, six days after the sinking, it would be a “little miracle” if someone else were found alive.
So far three crew members have been rescued, two of whom survived.
Wallace had worked as a rancher on numerous ships that sailed in the same area where Gulf Livestock 1 sank, and at the same time of year that coincided with typhoon season.
It was quite common for cattle boats to travel through the area during typhoon season, he said.
Graham Flett / AP
The 11,947 tonne Gulf Livestock 1 freighter sails through Port Phillip heading for the Bass Victoria Strait in Australia.
The ships had access to constant weather reports and normally sailed in the worst weather conditions.
Another cattle ship had also sailed from New Zealand for China just days after Gulf Livestock 1 left on its final voyage.
Karen Adrian / Supplied
Kiwi sire Scott Harris was aboard Gulf Livestock 1. He has not been found.
Wallace said he had kept in contact with the other ship’s crew from his base in Arrowtown.
“It was hard [seas]I’m not going to lie … but with modern technology, the weather reports are there for them. ”
The ship had avoided the worst of the weather by circling typhoons, Wallace said.
He wasn’t about to speculate on what happened to Gulf Livestock 1, but he believed it would have survived rough seas if its engine hadn’t failed.
“They are quite robust ships and as long as you have that power on …”
Wallace said his job on the cattle boats had been to make sure crew members fed and watered the animals properly and that sick animals were isolated for treatment.
He believed that Bellerby and Harris would have had the same tasks.
AP
A crew member rescued from the freighter after being rescued from the Japanese Sea after the ship sank.
He had only been once before on a cattle ship where he feared for his life, aboard the Ocean Drover that fought the great seas of Fremantle for three to five days.
The handrails on the upper deck of the 190m long ship were broken in 28 places, a vet in his cabin was thrown from his bunk and a bolted cooler flew through the cabin and landed between the legs of Wallace, who was sleeping. . on the floor.
The shipment of livestock from New Zealand was currently suspended, but Wallace said that if animal rights groups had their way and the trade was banned, other countries could take over those that did not have good animal welfare standards, while a solid source of income for exports would be lost.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the search for the missing persons aboard the Gulf Livestock 1 resumed on Tuesday.
The ministry was providing consular assistance to the two New Zealand families.
Although New Zealanders were advised not to travel abroad, the ministry and its embassy in Tokyo were providing the two New Zealander families with information on Japan’s Covid-19 restrictions, flight availability, and route options.
A Maritime New Zealand spokesperson said that Panama, the flag State where the ship was registered, had a responsibility to conduct any investigation under international maritime conventions.
He was also in close contact with the leading search and rescue agency, the Japanese Coast Guard.
“While the ship was leaving a New Zealand port and transporting New Zealand citizens, Maritime New Zealand has contacted the Panama Maritime Safety Authority to request that it be kept informed and offer the necessary assistance.”
A surveyor assisted in loading the cattle before the ship sailed and found that everything was in order, the spokesman said.
“The vessel was not highlighted as a high-risk priority [after initial inspections], so no further inspections were required. “
Other New Zealand agencies involved were the Ministry of Primary Industries in relation to livestock welfare, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in relation to New Zealanders on board, but not from an investigative perspective, the spokesperson said.
