''Gulf Livestock 1'' was a

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For m ...

-registered

livestock carrier A livestock carrier is a large ship used in the live export of sheep, cattle and goats. They are specially built new or converted from container ships. Livestock carriers Seagoing vessels modified or purpose-built for the transportation of live ...

which sank west of Amami Ōshima Island in southwest Japan on 2 September 2020 due to

Typhoon Maysak The name Maysak has been used to name four tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The name was contributed by Cambodia and is a kind of tree. * Severe Tropical Storm Maysak (2002) (T0223, 29W) – formed far away from landmass. *Tropi ...

. The ship was constructed as a container ship named ''Maersk Waterford'' by the Hegemann Roland shipyard in

Berne, Germany Berne is a municipality in the district of Wesermarsch, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is on the left bank of the Weser, approximately 20 km east of Oldenburg and 25 km northwest of Bremen. Notable people The Canadian photographer Le ...

. Her keel was laid on 4 April 2002, she was launched on 20 September, and was delivered on 9 December. She was renamed ''Dana Hollandia'' in 2006, ''Cetus J.'' in 2012, and in 2015 was converted to a livestock carrier named ''Rahmeh''. In 2019, she was renamed for the last time to ''Gulf Livestock 1''. She had a gross tonnage of 6,370 GT and a

deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, pro ...

of 8,372 DWT. She measured long, with a beam of , and was powered by a single diesel engine that gave her a speed of .

Final voyage

On her final voyage, ''Gulf Livestock 1'' was carrying a cargo of 5,867 live cattle, and was owned by the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

-based Gulf Navigation Holding shipping company. The vessel left Napier, New Zealand on 14 August, and was scheduled to arrive in the

Port of Jingtang A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

Tangshan Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Boha ...

China on 3 September 2020. The ship sent a distress signal from the East China Sea west of the Japanese island of

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...

on 2 September 2020 at 1:40 am JST (4:40 pm 1 September UTC). The first survivor recovered reported that the ship's sole main propulsion engine failed during rough seas caused by

, and the vessel later capsized after being struck by a wave. Before the ship capsized, the 34-year old Filipino ship captain was also able to tell his wife via instant messages that the worsening of the typhoon had caused the ship's engine to fail. There were 43 crew members on board, 39 from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, two from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and two from Australia. The missing Australians were reported to have been an equine

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

and a stock handler. On 2 September, one crew member, a 45-year-old Filipino chief officer, was rescued by the

Japanese Coast Guard The is the coast guard of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. ...

. On 4 September, a second crew member was found unresponsive in the water by the Coast Guard and died shortly after being rescued. In the same area, several cattle carcasses and a life vest were also recovered. A second survivor, a 30-year-old Filipino deckhand in a life raft, was rescued on the afternoon of 4 September just after 4:00pm. On 9 September, the Coast Guard suspended the search for survivors.

References

{{coord missing, Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in 2020 Shipwrecks in the East China Sea 2002 ships Livestock transportation vehicles