2900 cows stuck on ship Spiridon II for almost 2 months

Around 2900 cows have been stuck on a ship off the coast of Turkey for more than two months. The ship, Spiridon II, left Uruguay on September 19 and arrived in Bandırma, Turkey, on October 22.

But Turkish officials did not allow the animals to come off the ship because of problems with documents.

Since then, the Spiridon II has remained at sea, and the cows are still on board. The ship’s owner said that 48 cows have died, and food and water supplies are running out.

These boats are not built to ‘house’ animals for this long, veterinarian Maria Boada from the Animal Welfare Foundation said.

When the ship arrived, inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry found that around 500 ear tags did not match the documents. Because of this, they refused to unload the cows and told the ship to move away from the port and stay offshore.

The owner has asked for permission to return to port on Saturday (November 8) to bring hay, feed, and water.

Animal rights groups are calling for urgent action. The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), Animal Advocacy and Food Transition, Animals International, and Animal Save Movement Türkiye have appealed to the Turkish authorities to urgently authorize the unloading of the surviving animals to prevent further suffering.

Dead animals still on board

Animal Save Movement Türkiye said that “at least 48 animals died due to thirst, hunger, and lack of hygiene.” Activists told local media that they fear the ship may have sailed further into the Marmara Sea to “dump the dead animals,” but this has not been confirmed.

Member of Animal Save Türkiy said they tried to reach the vessel on Thursday: “We are aware that the ship was held in port for 16 days. It was anchored in the middle of the sea and due to the weather conditions, no boats can come close. We could only take a view from a distance.”

They added: “Since the ship has been closed for days, we predict the animals have been hungry and dehydrated for some time.”

Old ship with a history of problems

The Spiridon II is old. It was built in 1973 and converted into a livestock carrier in 2011. The ship is registered in Togo and managed from Lebanon.

This is not the first time the Spiridon II has had problems. In 2022, its engine stopped working near Spain while carrying thousands of animals. The animals had to be moved to another vessel.

Animal rights groups say the suffering on this ship shows why live animal transport by sea should end. Long trips and bad conditions are dangerous and cruel for animals.