CALLING ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: If you can offer legal, financial or journalistic assistance please get in touch with the Animal Welfare Foundation.
Court documents reveal the true extent of the disaster aboard the Uruguayan livestock vessel: at least 58 dead cattle, 140 births and 90 “untraceable” newborn calves
New court documents shed light on the scale of the crisis aboard the Uruguayan livestock carrier Spiridon II. The vessel has been stranded off the Turkish coast for almost a month with 2,901 cattle on board.
As newly revealed court documents show, the import of the cattle was rejected because 469 animals were not listed on the selection or control list. One of the importers challenged the rejection on the grounds that the inspections had been carried out incorrectly. However, the court found “no obvious illegality” and dismissed the complaint. It remains unclear whether the importer will appeal.
The vessel has remained at anchor in open water — except when briefly taking on feed and water on Sunday — which means that almost no information has been available about conditions on board. The court documents now reveal alarming details:
- 58 cattle died during the journey from Uruguay to Türkiye (which took over one month).
- There were (and still are) numerous pregnant heifers on board: at least 140 heifers gave birth during the voyage.
- Fifty calves were found on board, but the whereabouts of the other 90 calves are unknown.
“Live newborns have a really difficult time – and this is awful for the crew too,” says Dr Lynn Simpson, an internationally renowned expert on animal transport by sea. “Often the cow or heifer will have her calf with little notice and will often be in a full-density pen with many other cattle. That means the newborn is easily stepped on and injured or killed.” It is therefore highly likely that many or most of the calves are dead. Due to the stressful conditions on board, miscarriages are also very common.
In a podcast recorded shortly after departure in Uruguay, Ganosan Livestock exporter Fernando Fernández, who organised the export, said that around half of the cattle on board Spiridon II are pregnant heifers.
The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), together with Animal Advocacy and Food Transition, Animals International, and Dr Lynn Simpson, have urged the Turkish authorities to unload the animals immediately. No response has yet been received. After the European Commission declared it had no jurisdiction, the organisations turned to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
The organisations warn of an acute animal welfare, health, and biosecurity emergency:
the Spiridon II cannot be cleaned or disinfected due to MARPOL rules; waste and sewage are accumulating; dead animals cannot be removed; and the surviving cattle are trapped in stagnant, contaminated air, unable to breathe fresh air and exposed to decomposing bodies. The signatories urge WOAH to:
- Engage with Turkish authorities to verify the current status of the animals aboard Spiridon II.
- Urgently request veterinary assessment and intervention.
- Encourage authorities to authorise immediate unloading or humane euthanasia of the animals under proper veterinary supervision.
- Assess the environmental and disease risks arising from prolonged waste and carcass accumulation on board.
This case highlights once again the systemic risks of long-distance live animal transport by sea, particularly when animals remain stranded due to administrative or trade complications. It also underscores the need for clear international mechanisms to prevent or mitigate such welfare disasters.
The Animal Welfare Foundation calls for a ban on the transport of live animals by sea.
“As long as such transports are permitted, these tragedies will repeat themselves,” says Maria Boada Saña, veterinarian at the Animal Welfare Foundation.
The Spiridon II (former name: Mikhail Cheremnykh) currently flies under the Togolese flag and was built in 1973 in Finland. Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 84 deficiencies were detected, and the vessel was detained once (nine times in its operational life). Until June 2024, it was approved for animal transport by Spain. Since then – as far as is known – it no longer has approval for animal transport in Europe. According to the Paris MoU, it is a black-flagged vessel, which means it poses a high risk to the animals on board, the crew, and maritime safety.
CALLING ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: If you can offer legal, financial or journalistic assistance please get in touch with the Animal Welfare Foundation.
Contact for Media Enquiries:
Tabea von Ow
E-mail: presse@animal-welfare-foundation.org
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www.animal-welfare-foundation.org
Now heading back to Montevideo from whence they came – another 30 days at sea. One doubts that any will be alive by then, even if they do stop to restock feed. If they have any left aboard from 9 November Bandirma restock, it won’t last much longer. Hay as well – vital for bedding for pregnant heifers (if they haven’t all birthed already or about to soon).
Spiridon 2 livestock carrier crisis must be followed up by reporters when ship docks back in Uruguay in December