Red Sea shipping: Future of 16,000 animals on live export ship off West Australia still unknown

Australia's Department of Agriculture and the exporter are still in discussions about what happens to the animals. Photo / Glenn Taylor

The fate of about 16,000 livestock being offloaded near Perth is still being decided, a senate hearing has been told.

A decision is yet to be made on the fate of about 16,000 animals being offloaded from the MV Bahijah after the livestock carrier was forced to return to port.

A Senate hearing has been told seven more cattle died since being offloaded on Monday, on top of four earlier cattle deaths and 60 sheep deaths, all below the reportable levels.

The ship was turned back after five and a half weeks at sea due to Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea, and arrived at Fremantle port to be unloaded.

This image made from video shows livestock on MV Bahijah ship docked at a port in Fremantle, Australia. Photo / Channel 10 via AP

Department of Agriculture secretary Adam Fennessy said the exporter and department were still in discussions about what happens to the animals.

“The future of the livestock is currently a matter for the commercial exporter,” Fennessy said.

“The department is working with the commercial exporter to help them determine the next steps.”

The animals remain under the watch of veterinary care and supervision.

A decision is yet to be made on the fate of about 16,000 animals being offloaded from the MV Bahijah ship. Photo / Channel 10 via AP

“We’ve confirmed that there is no evidence of any exotic animal diseases and we’ve confirmed we have robust biosecurity processes in place to manage the livestock,” Fennessy said.

All of the animals are expected to be offloaded by Wednesday.

The hearing was told the department took two weeks from ordering the ship’s return to Australia before rejecting an application for the animals to be re-exported.

“It [the decision] took longer on the face of it from an external perspective if you weren’t aware of the complexity of the process,” Fennessy said.