A mystery surrounds the next destination for livestock ship Spiridon II after it was seen docked in Benghazi city in Libya, where it may have unloaded cattle.
Spiridon II hit global headlines after Turkish authorities denied access to unload its cargo of 2,901 dairy animals, en route from Uruguay, over 58 of which had died during the journey.
Issues with the paperwork, including ear tagging irregularities, were aired as the reasons Turkey would not offload the cattle, which had been at sea for over a month.
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Following another month anchored off the coast of Turkey, when the ship owners tried to resell the cattle, it then moved to Libya, and may now be on its way to Egypt.
It is not clear how many cattle, if any, were unloaded in Benghazi, nor do authorities know where the dead animals went to, although it is assumed by some that they may have been thrown overboard.
Movements of livestock ship
The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), which is trying to track the movements of Spiridon II, has said the ship keeps turning off its signal, effectively ‘going dark’ for a few days at a time.
AWF said its team tracked the ship to Benghazi after three days of silence and witnessed trucks loaded with cattle leaving the docks. No one is certain how many cattle were unloaded there.
AWF said: “After unloading, the Spiridon II left the port again and is now back at sea. It is unclear whether any, or how many, animals are still on board.
“The vessel last reported Egypt as its destination, having previously stated Lebanon as its destination. Whether any of these statements are correct cannot be verified.
“In the meantime, the Spiridon II has switched off its signal again. It is possible that the vessel is attempting to confuse port state control in order to avoid being inspected,” AWF said.
AWF claims the veterinarian that had accompanied the animals from Uruguay left the vessel in Turkey. The organisation also said the ship’s signals were turned off while the vessel was stuck in Turkey and as it continued to Libya.
ASF said: “This poses a serious risk for a ship carrying hundreds of pregnant heifers, newborn calves, and many sick or weakened animals.
“Due to the prolonged signal interruptions, we assume that dead animals were thrown overboard during this phase and that the sewage accumulated over two months was illegally discharged.
“Dozens of animals had already died, and many calves had been born, lost, or perished. Without the possibility of unloading, cleaning, or proper carcass disposal, extreme conditions have prevailed on board for weeks.”
The Spiridon II left Uruguay with 2,901 cattle on board, about half of which were in-calf. Around 140 pregnant heifers calved during the journey, but the whereabouts of over 90 calves, is currently unknown.
Latest satellite images show there is no more hay or fodder on the deck, which AWF says could mean all the animals on board have been unloaded somewhere.
There have been other suggestions that the Spiridon II could be on its way back to Uruguay.
