Livestock Carrier Catches Fire in Brazil
A fire broke out on the Panama-flagged livestock carrier North Star 1 while it was docked at the Port of São Sebastião, Brazil, on 3 March.
Some of the 28 crew onboard required medical attention due to smoke inhalation, and the 2,600 cattle onboard, destined for Turkey, were disembarked.
The fire was reported to have started in a provisions store containing livestock fodder.
“The incident is a strong reminder of the dangers of fire at sea, and especially the risks of fire on livestock carriers where there is no safe way to evacuate the animals should a fire break out and get out of control at sea,” says Australian veterinarian Dr Lynn Simpson. “If this happens the animals simply die horribly from being burned alive whilst trapped in their pens, as has happened to well over a 100,000 in the not-so-distant past.”
Livestock carriers do not carry life preserving equipment for the animals onboard beyond hoses, says Simpson. “When things go badly and the crew need to evacuate the animals are all left onboard to perish. The ‘lucky’ ones die first.
“During my decade of sailing on livestock carriers as a veterinarian I was surprised how often the fire alarm sounded during loaded voyages, fortunately ours were brought under control quickly - not all are so lucky. None of the fires I witnessed made it to the media, but many others have.
“This leaves the question, how many of these ships are firetraps? How many fires occur that are not reported? When will the next sickening disaster happen?”
Reported fires include the following:
• 1980 Farid Fares - over 40,000 animals burned alive
• 1996 Uniceb - over 60,000 animals burned alive
• 2011 Maysora - unknown losses whilst loaded
• 2013 Estancia - unknown if loaded
• 2014 Ocean Drover - accommodation fire
• 2015 Awassi Express - fodder fire
• 2015 Asia Reya - whilst loaded
• 2015 Nabolsi 1 - whilst loaded
• 2019 Boi Branco - when empty
• 2021 Elbeik - when empty
• 2023 Brahman Express - whilst loaded
• 2025 Zein 1 - fodder tank fire
• 2026 North Star 1 - when loaded.
In December, a coalition of 36 organizations issued a letter to the Secretary-General of the IMO calling for binding international regulations for livestock carriers.
