In August, the livestock carrier MV Jawan left Fremantle bound for Aqaba, Jordan. Its route passes through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where a vessel was attacked on 11 August.
In January 2024, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry ordered the MV Bahijah to turn back from the same region because of the security risk. Of course, the level of risk varies from vessel to vessel, depending on factors such as ownership, flag and destination. However, no ship carrying thousands of animals should be sailing into an active conflict zone, and the animals on board have no way out.
We asked an urgent question about the MV Jawan
On 29 August, Stop Live Exports wrote to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, copied to Agriculture Minister Julie Collins. We asked for urgent confirmation of the contingency arrangements in place to protect the animals on board. We then followed up twice in September.
Under the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock, exporters must submit a contingency plan for every consignment. In addition, Middle East voyages carry extra requirements that account for security risks on routes such as the Red Sea, including “demonstrably viable” alternative strategies. So a plan would have existed. What we asked was what it contained: what would happen to the animals if the ship could not pass safely.
Four weeks later, still no answer
On 25 September, the Department replied. That was almost four weeks after our first letter, and well after the MV Jawan was due in Jordan. The reply said our first two emails had not been received and restated the general criteria for approving live export voyages. It also said contingency requirements are assessed “on a per consignment basis”. Yet it did not tell us what arrangements were in place for the Jawan.
We have now lodged a Freedom of Information request for these documents, and we will share what we learn.
Australians deserve to know that animals exported from our ports are not sent into conflict zones without a clear, credible plan. It took four weeks to answer a direct question about animal safety, and the answer was to make an FOI request. That is one more reason this trade needs to end.
Want to help? Sign up for our updates and support our work.