ON APRIL 16, 2024, Tanzania-flagged livestock carrier Deala (IMO: 7405091) ran aground off the eastern coast of the Istrian peninsula, Croatia.

As of today, February 14, 2025, it is still there.

Ten months later the elderly ship, built in 1976, is still exposed to the wind and waves, and residents fear that one big storm could fatally damage the vessel, and potentially pollute an environmentally protected area and popular tourist beach.

Perhaps the only positive of the whole situation is that Deala had no animals on board when it ran aground.

The Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure said the owner of Deala “ignored the decision of the competent Port Authority of Pula” after the grounding “and submitted to the Ministry a Notice of Abandonment declaring the ship a total loss, abandoning the wreck in question and leaving further actions to the insurers”.

Divers discovered flooding in the vessel’s engine room, and while all fuel has been removed from the carrier, there could still be potential biohazards on board, warned Neven Ivesa of the University of Pula’s faculty of natural sciences. The ministry said there was “no threat to the marine environment” because oily water had been pumped from the carrier, which is also anchored by blocks to prevent it from moving.

The salvage plan selected by insurers involved lifting Deala onto a floating dock before towing it to a cutting yard. A date for the salvage operation to begin has still not been finalised.

This particular incident has not been widely reported, perhaps because of Deala’s modest size (2,230 gt), but more likely because it is the latest in a long line of casualties involving livestock carriers around the world.

In February 2024, The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) boarded the 2016-built, 36,000 gt, Al Kuwait (IMO: 9590931) in Cape Town, South Africa.

This followed complaints from the public due to a stench emanating from the vessel, which had arrived from Brazil to load feed for its cargo of 19,000 cattle on their way to the Middle East.

The NSPCA inspection declared conditions on board as “abhorrent” and noted an “extreme” build-up of faeces and urine on the vessel’s decks, with many animals having no option but to “rest in dams of their own excrement”.

The NSPCA discovered diseased and injured animals on board during its two-day inspections. Eight cows had to be euthanised due to their injuries, while others were found dead on board.

The Kuwait-owned Al Kuwait is one of the largest and most modern livestock carriers in service.

A month previously, the Israeli-owned 13,000 gt Bahijah (IMO: 9360788) carrying Australian cattle from Fremantle to the port of Haifa had to divert from its usual Red Sea route via the Cape of Good Hope due to Houthi attacks on shipping. 

The vessel’s cargo of 8,000 sheep had to endure three months aboard due to the diversion, sparking outrage from animal rights groups in Australia and Israel.

In April 2024, the 1965-built Lady Maria (IMO: 6518425) ran aground near Pserimos Island off the Greek coast with 6,800 lambs on board.

Fortunately, the vessel was able to be refloated with tug assistance the same day and was escorted to an anchorage for damage inspection.

The worst incident involving a livestock carrier occurred in 2009 and involved the 25,000 gt, 1976-built, converted vehicle carrier Danny F.II (IMO: 7359462).

Originally built for Sweden’s Wallenius Lines, the vessel was converted by new owners to a livestock carrier in 1994.

It was carrying 10,200 sheep and 18,000 cattle from Uruguay to Syria when it lost stability and overturned near Tripoli with 80 personnel on board. All of its cargo was lost and 55 people on board, including the British master, died in the incident.

According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, the livestock carrier fleet numbers 117 active vessels. Only 24 of them were built since 2000 with 80% of the operational fleet being aged 25 years or more. The oldest ship in service was built in 1964.

Most livestock carriers are operated by small, family-owned, companies. Some have a poor safety record and have been highlighted for poor treatment of crews.

Live animal exports continue to come under pressure from animal rights groups and non-governmental organisations.

Animal Welfare Institute staff attorney and senior policy associate Adrienne Craig said her organisation still sees reports of “horrific incidents of capsized vessels, or animals languishing and dying while waiting for weeks on vessels”.

“Of course, accidents can happen to any ship at sea, but vessel owners must be held responsible for the upkeep and maintenance and for the conditions on board so that the animals arrive at their destination healthy and in as timely a manner as possible,” she said.

Several major markets have now banned the export of live animals by sea, including the UK, New Zealand, and perhaps most notably Australia, whose ban comes into force in 2028.

As a result of that increased pressure, some of the more reputable owners of livestock carriers appear to be now getting out of the business.

They include Australia’s Wellard Group which confirmed the sale of its last ship in January.

The company was one of the few operators to operate purpose-built livestock carriers rather than conversions from other vessel types, which make up the majority of the fleet.

More than half of the fleet in service was converted from another ship type, with containerships and ro-ro cargo vessels being the most popular choice for conversions. Most conversions were carried out for ships which were already near the end of their life.

The addition of numerous decks bearing active animals to the structures of former containerships has been cited as the cause of a number of casualties where stability of the ship was lost.

They include the fatal loss of the converted feeder containership Gulf Livestock 1 (IMO: 9262883) in 2020.

The 12,000 gt ship foundered off the Japanese coast on a voyage from New Zealand to China after it capsized in heavy weather following engine failure. Its entire crew and 6,000 sheep were lost.

Due to their poor safety record and sometimes questionable standards of maintanence, the livestock carrier fleet is deemed to be of high risk to insurers and attracts more port state control inspections, per fleet size, than any other ship type.

The Paris MOU database alone records the detention of 12 livestock carriers at European ports in 2024.

In December 2024 the 1983-built Express M (IMO: 8200577) was detained in Portugal for a month following port state control inspection which found 26 serious safety deficiencies.

Beating even the Express M’s poor PSC record, the 1977-built Nader A (IMO: 7611547) was detained at the Spanish port of Tarragona for nine days with 27 deficiencies.

The extensive rap sheet of the livestock carrier fleet is no help to the people of Rasa, Marcana or Barban who are worried about their beach being polluted, nor the Croatian taxpayer who will be on the hook for the clean-up operation.

But the Deala incident is another casualty to add to the charge list of arguably shipping’s worst performing sector in terms of safety.