BARKLY PEARL

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Crew members paid and repatriated

46 crew members of the 'Barkly Pearl' – which is banned from Australian ports after an alarming safety breach – and the Singapore flagged livestock carrier 'Diamantina', 7702 gt (IMO:9144469),have finally returned to their home recently. The crew members were not paid their salaries for several months. However, later stakeholders forced the owners to pay all the dues, including wages, travel, and accommodation of all the personnel, including Pakistani seamen. Therefore, the owners of the vessel have paid to all the crew members, including Pakistanis and foreigners serving in the ships. The seafarers had been left unpaid amid dispute between owners and manager for three months on the ships with poor safety records. The ITF has claimed the failure to pay the crews of the 'Barkly Pearl' and 'Diamantina' meant they could be considered abandoned under international law. Both ships are 70% owned by the Singaporean company Beng Kuang Marine (BKM) as part of a joint venture called Cattle Line. Australian businessman Nick Thorne owns the remaining 30% through his Northern Territory-based cattle export business, NTXLS. The ships have been sitting idle in Indonesian waters for the past three months. Under Cattle Line’s ownership maritime authorities have repeatedly found both vessels to be in breach of safety rules, with 177 defects recorded against the 'Barkly Pearl' and 68 against the 'Diamantina'. In January, the Australian Marine Safety Authority banned the Barkly Pearl from Australian ports for two years after it was seen listing in the water with a hole in its hull on Nov 3, 2020. BKM has also been under financial pressure. Its shipping division, which includes Cattle Line, recorded a loss of S$17.1m last year, helping drive the company as a whole to a loss of S$15.4m. The 'Barkly Pearl' was transported aboard the heavy load carrier 'Falcon' (IMO:7915278) to a shipyard owned by BKM on the Indonesian island of Batam, near Singapore, while the 'Diamantina' was moored off Jakarta after being arrested by the Indonesian navy at the end of August for anchoring in territorial waters without permission. After the ITF’s intervention, most of the Pakistani, Filipino and Indonesian crew members aboard the two ships were paid last week, but as of Dec 1 eight were yet to receive what they were owed.

Livestock carrier suffered hull damage

The 'Barkly Pearl', enroute from Singapore to Fremantle , suffered damage to its starboard side hull 120 kilometers north of Geraldton, and developed a list. It has been ordered into port by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) on Nov 3, 2020, at 7.20 a.m. All crew were in good health and not displaying any Covid-like symptoms. The ship had no livestock onboard. The ship was taken in tow, and the damage was to be assessed in the port. While no environmental impacts were reported, an oil boom was deployed around the vessel as a precautionary measure. Covid protocols were applied as a precautionary measure. The port authority was liaising closely with the AMSA, Department of Transport, Department of Health, Australian Border Control and WA Police. Report with video: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-03/livestock-ship-limps-into-geraldton-with-hole-in-hull/12844696

Court rejects application of NSPCA application

The Grahamstown High Court on Aug 23, 2013, allowed the "Barkly Pearl" to load animals for slaughter in Mauritius. Judge Jean Nepgen ruled against the National Council of SPCA’s urgent court application to stop 2000 animals being loaded on to the ship bound for Mauritius. Having viewed the footage of animals exported on the vessel previously, the judge expressed his opinion that cruelty was prevalent and that this would have to be resolved in the future. The judge also ruled that no formal application was applicable in terms of the Livestock Improvement Act No 62 of 1998, in relation to the export of animals for slaughter. NSPCA was disappointed by the development. The urgent High Court application brought by the National Council of SPCAs named the respondents as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Registrar of Animal Improvement at the department, the MEC for the Department of Agriculture in the Eastern Cape, and Trustees of the Page Farming Trust.