[ad_1]
The first shipment of live cattle to leave New Zealand under the new rules after the Gulf Livestock 1 disaster will be chartered by the same company and the mother of one of the kiwis lost on the last trip has some advice for anyone thinking about work on board: “Do your due diligence.”
The Yangtze Fortune is scheduled to arrive in Napier port around noon on Wednesday, two months after the Gulf Livestock 1 capsized in a typhoon in the East China Sea on September 2. There were 43 crew members and 6,000 head of cattle on the ship, which had sailed from Napier. August 14.
Two New Zealanders were among the 41 people believed to have died: Scott Harris, 37, and Lochie Bellerby, 28.
The Gulf Livestock 1, owned by the United Arab Emirates-based Gulf Navigation Holdings Ltd., had been chartered by the Australian company Australasian Global Enterprises Ltd.
READ MORE:
* New rules for live exports revealed by the Ministry of Primary Industries
* New Zealand offers information and support in the search for a lost cattle ship
* ‘Absolutely Desperate’: Parents of Missing Cattle Herd Manager Ask for Government Help in Rescue Efforts
Harris’s mother, Karen Adrian, said it was the ship’s owner’s responsibility to make sure it was seaworthy, but it was also the exporter’s responsibility to carry out due diligence and ensure its personnel were safe.
SUPPLIED
The Yangtze Fortune is on its way to Napier.
“There must be some responsibility on exporters to ensure that their staff are in good hands. Scott never had a health and safety meeting. We know this from the testimony of the survivors. Everything will be revealed in the ongoing investigation, ”he said.
“I would definitely encourage any family with a son or a sibling looking to go on any boat to advise them to do their due diligence. That means making sure that all health and safety investigations have been completed, that the ship is certified as seaworthy and is not under any investigation from any other port, ”he said.
Bellerby’s brother, Cameron, said his family held no one responsible for the sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1 and had no problems with the start of the cattle shipments.
Karen Adrian / Supplied
Scott Harris was on his first trip on the Gulf Livestock 1.
“I have nothing against it,” he said.
“What happened [on the Gulf Livestock 1], we are told, it was a maritime disaster. Many ships sink each year, but most sink in a harbor or through a reef. It is so rare for a ship to simply disappear. It would be very unfortunate if it happened again, ”he said.
Panama, as the Gulf 1 Cattle Flag State, is conducting an investigation into the sinking with the assistance of the New Zealand Transportation Accident Investigation Commission.
The Ministry of Primary Industries launched an independent review of the guarantees it receives for the transportation of cattle by sea and temporarily suspended exports of cattle until October 23.
From October 24 to November 30, there is a “ conditional ban ”, which means that the density in cattle vessels will be reduced, to no more than 90 percent of the previous limits (according to the new Australian standards), increased veterinary reporting on board ship and increased forage requirements.
Supplied
Southland man Lochie Bellerby, who was aboard a Gulf Livestock 1 cattle boat when it sank off the coast of Japan.
The Ministry is considering additional suggested changes in the review, such as requiring more information in the Animal Welfare Export Certificate applications. These changes will be considered in conjunction with a broader policy review on livestock transportation that began last year.
Yangtze Fortune, owned by a German company, is one of four exporters who had around 24,000 head of cattle currently in Pre-Export Isolation (PEI) and had submitted Animal Welfare Export Certificate (AWEC) applications before they the temporary suspension will take effect.
The 24,000 head of cattle were to go to China.
The other ships involved in the shipments are expected to dock at New Plymouth and Timaru in the coming weeks.
A spokeswoman for the MPI said the ministry had not yet approved any welfare certificates for shipments of livestock.
“We fully recognize the family’s concerns and no shipments will sail through the conditional ban period until November 30 unless they meet the new requirements introduced after the Heron report,” he said.
Andy Jackson / Stuff
The Yangtze Fortune in Port Taranaki in July.
An AGE spokesperson said: “As the charterer of the ship and not its operator, it is the operator who must comply with the International Convention for the Safety of Human Life at Sea, which includes training and emergency drills.”
“Any ship leaving New Zealand must fully comply with New Zealand standards. Australasia Global Exports it also requires ships to have a valid Australian certificate for the transport of livestock. The recent Mike Heron QC Review said that the Australian Certificate for Livestock Transport was a gold standard. “
A spokesperson for Maritime NZ said the organization was working with MPI and other agencies to implement the Heron report’s recommendations.
“The investigation into the loss of Gulf Livestock 1 is being conducted by the Panamanian authorities and at this stage there is nothing that Maritime NZ can add to that investigation,” he said.
A private search team earlier this month claimed to have found possible signs of life on uninhabited islands near where Gulf Livestock 1 sank.
The search group is funded by donations collected from a GoFundMe page that has raised AUD $ 219,000 and a Givealittle page that has raised more than $ 76,000.
The fortune of the Yangtze has been a cause for concern before. In 2018, following a shipment from Australia to China in which 33 head of cattle were killed, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority inspected the Yangtze Fortune upon its return and said the ship was unsuitable for voyages of more than 10 days.
