MV Bahijah stranded off Fremantle coast with 15,000 animals on board as government considers quarantine plan

Thousands of Australian sheep and cattle are set to swelter through heatwave conditions on a ship anchored off Perth’s coast amid an apparent stalemate between the federal government and the live exporter.

The animals have been at sea for 25 days on board the MV Bahijah after it was ordered by the government to turn back from its voyage to the Middle East due to security concerns in the strife-torn Red Sea.

The vessel arrived back off the WA coast yesterday and was expected to dock this morning but remains stationary about 10 kilometres off the port of Fremantle.

Animal advocates say the coming heatwave — with temperatures forecast to soar above 35 degrees over the next four days — will see conditions on board the ship deteriorate rapidly.

But WA Premier Roger Cook told ABC Radio Perth on Wednesday he believed the welfare of the animals was still “fairly high”.

“But obviously they’ve been at sea now for quite a few days,” he said.

“There’s a lot of them on that ship in fairly tight quarters.

“We stand ready to help the Commonwealth resolve that issue.”

WAFarmers livestock division Geoff Pearson earlier flagged the preferred option was to restock the ship and send it back the long way — a 33-day voyage around the Horn of Africa that would avoid the Red Sea channel and potential violence by Houthi rebels targeting commercial vessels.

But Stop Live Exports coordinator Rebecca Tapp said the only humane option was to offload the animals and process them in Australia.

“Certainly the idea of sending them back to sea for 33 days is inhumane,” she said.

“Live export is cruel, it can’t be regulated, and it needs to end sooner rather than later.”

The premier said his government would work with the Commonwealth to help take some sheep off the vessel once it docks, which he hoped would happen on Wednesday.

“My understanding is their initial aim is to at least get some off so that they can look after the welfare of those animals,” Mr Cook said.

“But we’ll need to quarantine those animals because obviously they’re coming from overseas so there are biosecurity measures in place to make sure they don’t present with any diseases.”

The ABC has been unable to contact the exporter — Israeli-based Bassem Dabbah — which operates through an Australian holding company.

The firm’s Australian address is Prime Company Compliance, which helps offshore individuals register a business in Australia.

Prime Company Compliance declined to provide contact details for Bassem Dabbah’s directors.

Concern about stench in Fremantle

City of Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said she was concerned about the stench that would be emanating from the ship given the livestock had been on board for almost a month.

“The real impact on the community … is the smell, the smell of sheep ships,” she said.

But Ms Fitzhardinge said while the stench was an obvious problem, in her opinion there was a bigger issue at stake — animal welfare.

“It’s going to smell pretty bad … but I think it’s probably most importantly a reminder of why this trade is deeply inhumane,” she said.

Well over 50,000 tonnes of sheep, cattle and calves were exported through the Fremantle Port last financial year.

At a press conference, Mr Cook said the state government was working with the Commonwealth to decide what facilities might need to be prepared for the animals.

“We are working with the Commonwealth around how we can de-stock some of the animals from that ship, put them into quarantine within our biosecurity arrangements and then see how we can move forward from there,” he said.

“It’s a difficult situation but it’s ultimately the Commonwealth’s jurisdiction.”

Federal MP for Fremantle Josh Wilson said the end of live exports “can’t come soon enough”.

“We have a ship with thousands of sheep suffering intolerable heat and confinement as a result of the dangerous live sheep trade,” he said. 

“It’s a marginal trade, it’s decreased by more than 90 per cent. It’s worth less than 1 per cent of Western Australia’s agricultural output.

“It’s well and truly time for us to bring this trade to an end.”

“That’s why the Albanese government has made that commitment and is sensibly managing the end of the live sheep trade.”