Press Release: Pregnant heifers and newborn calves dying aboard stranded livestock ship “Spiridon II”
The "Spiridon II", flying under Togolese flag, has been stuck in front of the Turkish coast with 3.000 cattle from Uruguay on board, many of whom are pregnant.
New court documents shed light on the scale of the crisis aboard the livestock carrier Spiridon II. The vessel has been stranded off the Turkish coast for almost a month with 2,901 cattle from Uruguay 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 anchorage in open water—except for briefly taking on feed and water on Sunday—which means 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 1 month).
- There were (and still are) numerous pregnant heifers on board: at least 140 heifers gave birth on board.
- 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, internationally renowned expert on animal transport by ship. “Often the cow/heifer will have her calf with little notice and will often be in the full density pen with many other cattle. That means that the newborn is easily stepped on and injured/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 organized the export, said that around half of the cattle on board Spiridon II are pregnant heifers.
The German Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), together with Animal Advocacy and Food Transition, Animals International and Dr. Lynn Simpson have urged 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 organizations 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 surviving cattle are trapped in a stagnant, contaminated air, unable to breathe fresh air exposed to decomposing bodies.
The signatories urge WOAH to:
1. engage with Turkish authorities to verify the current status of the animals aboard Spiridon II.
2. urgently request veterinary assessment and intervention.
3. encourage authorities to authorize immediate unloading or humane euthanasia of the animals under proper veterinary supervision.
4. 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, veterinary at 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 number of 84 deficiencies were detected, and the vessel was detained once (9 times in its operational life). Until June 2024, it was approved for animal transport by Spain. Since then – according to our knowledge –, it does not have approval for animal transport in Europe. According to the Paris MoU, it is a black flagged vessel, which means it poses a high risk for the animals on board, the crew and maritime safety.
Download the press release here.
Find an earlier press release about the case here.