Suez Canal: time running out for 92,000 animals stranded on ships


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Of all the millions of tonnes of cargo that’s piled up in the Suez Canal, none is more delicate than the animals crammed into the hulls of several of the ships.

Little information is available, with neither canal officials nor shipping executives willing to talk, but data compiled by Bloomberg indicate as many as 14 vessels stuck in and around the canal could be carrying thousands of livestock.

Given the Europe-to-Middle East itineraries of many, they are most probably carrying sheep. Ships carrying 92,000 animals to Jordan are stranded, an official said.

While much of the waylaid cargo is commodity products such as oil that can be stored on ships for long periods, livestock need food and water, and such deliveries usually carry only enough for a few extra days.

That could create a critical situation for ships to find feed supplies at a local port, or force them to turn around. Dislodging the vessel blocking the canal may take at least a week, longer than initially feared, people familiar with the matter said.

“I wouldn’t expect just after a two-day delay for a problem to have built up,” said Peter Stevenson, chief policy officer at animal-welfare group Compassion in World Farming, which has called for an end to the live-animal shipments.

“It’s as time goes by that the problems get worse. Occasionally, there are real scandals when things go wrong, but it’s a day-to-day horror.”

Cattle can also be transported by sea, and ships would generally have at least two or three days’ worth of extra hay or feed on board, said Bob Bishop, president of the Livestock Exporters Association of the USA. If the feed runs out, they could get more from a port while refueling. A ship that can’t get to dock could get feed from a barge in what’s known as “midstream loading", he said.

Seven livestock vessels that were due to arrive in Aqaba on March 21 are stranded near the Suez Canal, Capt George Dahdal, Representative of Jordan Navigation Syndicate, said.

Options to save livestock stranded at Suez Canal

“If you’re getting low on feed, I would look at coming into port and putting on extra feed,” Mr Bishop, who is in New York, said.

“If I was the owner of the sheep, I would try to find a country that needed sheep,” he said.

“The shorter route would be back to Romania.”

At least 14 vessels designed to ship animals are parked near the shuttered canal, and several appear to be en route between Romania and Saudi Arabia, according to ship data compiled by Bloomberg.

The ones departing the European country are likely carrying sheep, which Saudi Arabia purchases so that the animals can be slaughtered in a halal way. Those travelling in the other direction could be empty vessels.

The Middle Eastern nation is the world’s largest sheep importer by a wide margin, the UN data shows.

But the trade route has faced disaster at times. About 14,000 sheep being shipped from Romania to Saudi Arabia were killed when a vessel partly capsized in 2019, according to media reports. Rescuers were only able to save a little over 200 animals.

Risks en route

Vessels that crowd thousands of sheep and longer journeys raise the risk of disease and stress, said Mr Stevenson, of the animal welfare group. Some ships used to transport animals also have been converted from other purposes and aren’t ideally suited, he said. It can be difficult to reverse course after departure because of health rules.

Mr Bishop said mortality rates for livestock are generally no higher at sea than on land, with most ships having a veterinarian.

A US shipment of dairy cattle left the Texas port of Galveston late last year en route to Pakistan via the Suez, according to Mr Bishop.

Another recent shipment of US cattle sailed from the West Coast to Pakistan, avoiding the Suez because of tolls, he said.

“After this container ship, you might see more and more of that,” he said

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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

RESULTS
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

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match info

Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')

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Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

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Bantamweight title:
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Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
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Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
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Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
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Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
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Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
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Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
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Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

MATCH INFO

Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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The%20specs
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RACE SCHEDULE

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm

Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm

Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Teams in the EHL

White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances