12 Major Livestock Shipping Companies

Livestock shipping involves transporting animals such as chickens, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and cows for various purposes, such as food production. However, this can be difficult, and the animals may fall sick if proper measures are not taken.

Hence, companies that transport live animals must follow international rules and regulations when loading and unloading animals onto ships.

When it comes to livestock shipping, choosing the right shipping company is important if you want to ensure that the animals reach their destination safely and in good health.

So, in this article, we bring you the 12 Major Livestock Shipping Companies.

1. Siba Ships

This Italian Shipping company was started by Emilio Balzarini from his tiny farm in the Alps in 1967. As the demand for meat rose, he decided to fit cargo vessels with stables and other systems to ship livestock from other nations like Romania and Bulgaria.

Hence, the fleet began with 3 Ships and expanded as new markets emerged in the Middle East and North Africa. Siba Queen was launched in 1979, and a year later, the flagship Uniceb was delivered.

Today, Siba Ships is a renowned name in the livestock shipping industry. The company believes in respecting the needs and welfare of animals that it ships.

It owns the youngest livestock carrier fleet in the world, with an average age of five years. It is also home to the largest livestock Carrier, the MV Becrux.

The company has diversified its operations and entered the dry and wet cargo sectors with its fleet of bulk carriers and tankers.

2. Livestock Shipping Services (LSS)

Based in Australia, this company was established in 1998 and has more than 20 years of experience dealing with livestock.

It has a dedicated team of professionals who ensure that operations run smoothly and animal welfare is upheld. It offers clients the best prices and also has good-quality livestock.

It operates worldwide and has a market presence amounting to more than 150 million dollars. Its four main ships operate from Australia.

These include Bader III, which can carry 110,000 Sheep or 75,000 sheep and 10,000 cattle. Others include Maysora, Ghena, and Dareen. All their livestock carriers have modern feeding, ventilation and watering systems.

It is one of the biggest live export companies in the Southern Hemisphere, with operations from Australia to Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Moscow, Istanbul, Russia, etc.

3. Livestock Express

This company has 60 years of experience in this field, and its fleet of livestock carriers ships over 650,000 to 755,000 animals each year, including cattle, sheep, horses and goats.

It dominates Irish and Portuguese markets and is popular in New Zealand and America.

The company has a global presence and dominates markets in Ireland, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal.

Its ships are perfect for long voyages, not only from the markets mentioned above but also from Southeast Asia to the Gulf and South America to China.

It is a pioneer in developing advanced livestock carriers as less than 20 purpose-built livestock carriers entered the global livestock fleet in history, of which 13 were built for Livestock Express.

The next-gen livestock carriers were constructed with the comfort of animals kept in mind.

Livestock Express Ships boast a ducted ventilation system, which provides each pen with proper ventilation that removes heat, moisture, gases, and water vapour.

The company’s ventilation system is said to be the best in class. It exceeds Australia’s regulatory requirements regarding airflow and reduces noise levels in the holds.

4. Wellard

This company has grown from a local business to an international one by chartering livestock carriers. It also connects sheep, cattle, and other livestock producers to customers.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which has one of the strictest standards in the world, approved the company’s fleet of livestock carriers.

Wellard provides benefits on all the shipping lanes and also takes care of animal safety and health. Their vessels are properly ventilated and have automatic water and food distribution and clean spaces for animals.

Their livestock carriers are such that air on every deck is replaced more than once a minute with fresh air. The ventilation system is monitored throughout the day and is powered by two power stations.

Its fleet comprises MV Ocean Drover and MV Ocean Ute. In its first 200 trips, the Ocean Drover shipped 1,787,845 cattle and 5,112,205 sheep over 2 million nautical miles.

Ships on trips longer than ten days have a third-party veterinarian and five company stockmen to help the crew members.

5. AsstrA

Incorporated in Zurich in 1993, this company offers transportation services via roadways, air and seaways. It handles different types of cargo and specialises in logistics and shipping of live animals.

It has a significant presence in Europe, the Baltic region, Central Asia, and Asia. Its team optimises supply chains and offers custom solutions per the needs of its customers.

In 2020, the company celebrated 20 years of business. It has offices in London, Finland, Poland, Budapest, New York, Tampa, etc.

It transports live animals by sea by keeping them in specially built holds or on decks with equipment including bedding, drinking bowls, and feeding species, with proper cleanliness and ventilation systems in place.

6. Al Mawashi

This company is in Kuwait and has over 45 years of experience transporting animals.

It has two ships, Messilah and Al Kuwait, which can carry around 1. 4 million sheep annually.

Its livestock carrier fleet is managed by skilled crew members who adhere to strict international regulations regarding transporting live animals by sea.

The company plans to offer shipping services to other firms to transport their cattle and sheep through its ships.

The Al Messilah can accommodate 75,000 sheep and 800 cattle, while Al Kuwait can carry 80,000 sheep or 15,000 cattle.

The company has grown and is reputed in the Middle Eastern Market. It has subsidiaries in Australia and South Africa. It also produces organic fertilisers.

7. Amigo Logistics

Amigo Logistics India Pvt. Ltd was founded in 1994 and has a team of experts to help customers expand their businesses.

Its featured services include livestock handling and transportation via seaways and airways, warehousing, custom clearance, air freight & ocean freight and courier services.

In 2015, it emerged as a pioneer in exporting livestock via air and in 2019, it achieved the same feat via seaways.

Amigo Logistics has considerable expertise in exporting livestock to any part of the world, given basic facilities for handling livestock are available at the destination.

The company achieved a new milestone by handling 48 flights in 50 days by exporting 81,000 goats from India. It also manages 3 Ships, which export around 6000 goats from India.

8. P & O Freight

P & O Freight offers a wide range of freight transportation services between the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, so businesses can ship anything from food to dangerous goods and even livestock on the company’s service routes.

It offers seven service routes: Dover—Calais, Hull—Europoort, Teesport—Zeebrugge, Hull—Zeebrugge, Larne—Cairnryan, Tilbury—Zeebrugge, and Tilbury—Europoort.

It handles 250 plus departures each week with 14 ships across all routes.

Businesses can choose this company to ship their livestock across the Channel or the Irish Sea through the Larne-Cairnryan route.

The livestock is transported according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs livestock transport regulations.

9. AUSTREX

Founded in 1973, Austrex is a reputed name in the livestock industry and the livestock export trade.

It has over 50 years of experience and has built a reputation for upholding animal welfare policies and practices while offering innovative livestock supply chain solutions.

It is known to source high-quality livestock from Australia’s most trusted suppliers.

The company’s livestock exports are overseen by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE)

It also maintains its Australian Livestock Export License with an Approved Arrangement Level 3.

All the livestock carriers used by the company meet the standards of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and are manned by qualified and experienced staff trained in caring for animals.

10. World Wide Livestock Express, Inc.

This is a U.S.-based company that transports livestock to different states of the country and international markets via roads, ships, and aeroplanes.

The company transports animals in ocean containers that have been modified for this purpose. These containers are cost-effective and allow one to ship a huge number of animals in a single trip. They also have good ventilation and temperature regulation.

The containers are inspected regularly and have been approved by the USDA.

The company also boasts of having the first animal quarantine facility approved by the USDA.

11. GulfNav

This shipping and maritime service company was founded in 2003 and is UAE’s only publicly listed maritime company with a global presence.

Its core business is offshore logistics and operates a fleet of oil, chemical and product tankers.

Apart from offshore support vessels, chemical tankers, and an IRS-class Well Stimulation Vessel, the company also has a livestock carrier called Gulf Livestock 2 GL2.

It was constructed in 1985 and converted into a livestock carrier ship in 2014.

It is currently sailing under the flag of Panama and has a capacity of 6244 DWT.

12. Kambara Kisen Co.,Ltd

This maritime company is in many businesses, including container shipping, chartering services, ship management services, tug boat services, logistics, and livestock shipping.

The company acquired its first livestock carrier ship in 2020 and began services the same year.

The main shipping route is loading from Australia to Southeast Asia. Live cows are usually carried, and around 2000 are shipped in a single trip.

It has a livestock carrier called Aurochs, which was built in 2007. It has a gross tonnage of 4760 MT and a DWT of 2546 MT. It is 84 m long and 15.9 m wide. It has five decks and a gross cattle pen capacity of 2,434.9 M2.

The company is relatively new to the livestock trade and is constantly working to expand this line of business while upholding animal welfare and offering comfort and safe travel to the livestock it ships.

You might also like to read-

• How is Livestock Transportation Done Using Livestock Carriers?
• Understanding Livestock Carriers – Design, Construction and Safety
• MV Becrux : The Largest Livestock Carrier in the World

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About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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