An ageing global fleet of livestock ships is under fire as animal welfare groups warn that unsafe vessels are putting lives, animals and oceans at risk. A global coalition of animal welfare organisations has issued an urgent warning that the world’s ageing livestock shipping fleet poses a growing threat to human life, animal welfare, public health and the marine environment, calling for binding international regulations to curb further disasters. In an open letter to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the network of 36 animal protection groups urged immediate action to regulate livestock carriers, describing the sector as the oldest and most dangerous in global shipping.
According to the coalition, the average livestock vessel is now about 40 years old – far beyond the internationally accepted safe operational lifespan of 25 years – with many ships operating under flags of convenience and weak regulatory oversight. The warning follows the recent loss of the livestock carrierMV Spiridon IIand a series of high-profile maritime disasters involving live animal shipments over the past two decades. “These disasters are not accidents; they are the predictable result of a system that allows substandard vessels to carry living animals without any specific international safety or welfare codes,” said StopLiveExportSA spokesperson Michelle Taberer.
Taberer said livestock vessels have been the most detained ship type globally since 2017, despite representing only a small fraction of the world fleet. “No other shipping sector would be allowed to operate with vessels this old, this unsafe and this poorly regulated while carrying living, sentient cargo,” she said.
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