Well, yes, you might have got an idea
of Fremantle, its historic prison, convict history etc. Fremantle
has got a big harbour as well which sees two totally different kinds
of ships regularly: Livestock carriers, transporting live sheep
(about 70,000 of them on board) mainly to the Middle East and
luxurious cruise liners, shipping well-off tourists round the Indian
and Pacific Ocean.
"The ORIANA for P&O Cruises, delivered in April 1995, was the first
cruise liner specially conceived for the British market. With a
normal running speed of 24 knots the ORIANA is one of the fastest
ships in the world and is therefore also equipped for world cruise"
from: http://www.meyerwerft.com
"Bali was very pushy as far as the locals trying to sell things. The tour guide in Bali was very well informed and managed to give us cultural and historical background to the many places we visited. The art work in Bali is beautiful and the people seem very friendly and outgoing. Australia is my home so when we docked in Fremantle, Western Australia it brought a lump to my throat. We had a special welcome here with a girls school band playing and lots of people to greet the ship. Perth and Fremantle would have to be one of the most attractive cities to visit. The trip on the Swan River was a memory I will cherish for a long time."
quotetd from: http://travelpage.com/yourfav/cruise/yfc_po_oriana.htm
"P & O SUPERLINERS – 50% OFF!!
"Oriana" 15 Feb – 14 nts – SYDNEY-HONG KONG via Fremantle & Bali from A$3690 including o’night accom, transfers and airfare back to Australia from Hong Kong"
quoted from: http://www.cruiseabout.com.au/pr02.htm
What livestock carriers and cruise
liners have in common? Some of the livestock carriers transporting
live sheep to the Middle East countries were converted from cargo
vessels into livestock carriers (sheep freighters) by a ship-yard in
this area: Meyer Werft Papenburg
- were the Oriana was built as well and even bigger cruise liners
are are being built and have already been ordered. Good for the
economy of Ostfriesland and the Emsland, more than 1,000 people are
working there, nearly 50% of them from Ostfriesland. But what about
the river Ems and the Sperrwerk? Doesn't look easy to say this is
right - this is wrong, I think. But back to Fremantle, Australia.
Livestock Carriers
"AL SHUWAIKH"
With a capacity of 125,000 sheep, the largest livestock carrier in
the world.
This livestock carrier, developed and converted by Meyer Werft,
has at its disposal the following equipment
- Automatic fodder system
- Automatic drinking water supply
- Combined drinking troughs for both sheep and cattle
- Horizontal and vertical dung removal system
- Removable aluminium decks for combined sheep/cattle carriers
- Pen construction of galvanized material and/or aluminium
- Optimum ventilation system
Information taken from: http://www.meyerwerft.com |
The following news from Associated
Press (5 September 1996) might give you an idea of a problem going
along with shipping live sheep:
|
Ship fire: 67,000 of the animals were left to die
.Associated Press ... 5 September 1996
PERTH, Australia -- Animal welfare activists called Thursday for an immediate ban on live sheep exports from
Australia after 67,000 sheep were left to die on a blazing ship off the east coast of Africa. The 14,990-ton Uniceb, a
Panamanian-registered vessel bound for Jordan from Western Australia, caught fire off Tanzania earlier this week.
Fifty-four crew were rescued by a passing freighter, but the stricken vessel's engineer was lost overboard. No crew
remained on board. A tug is on its way to salvage the ship, which is adrift, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio
reported Thursday. Other unconfirmed reports said the ship might have sunk.
Australia regularly exports live sheep to the Middle East, where the animals are slaughtered according to Islamic
religious requirements. ''I was horrified by the thought of 67,000 sheep being burned to death or perhaps dying from
smoke or possibly dying of thirst,'' said animal rights activist Peter Singer.
Hugh Wirth, president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, condemned the live sheep exports
as cruel, saying up to 8 percent of the animals die in transit even during successful voyages. Although the Australian
government admits there are problems with live exports, it said the exports are worth $390 million a year and will
continue. |
Careful:
It doesn't really solve any problems, if you just feel angry about
this fact or the Ems debate. Start thinking economically as well as
ecologically, especially as this is a global phenomenon with a lot
of different aspects to be considered before you can say
"right" or "wrong" - "terible" or
"good":
- without work, there's no pay -
without money, life is awful
- people look for work on a farm, on board a
ship, as a trucker, etc.
- farmers want to sell their animals,
ship-builders their ships
- religious reasons have to be taken into
account
- do you really know where the meat on your
plate originally comes from and how it was transported?
- and suddenly there is a connection between
a Malayan sailor working on board a ship, converted in Papenburg
perhaps by a relative or neighbour of yours, working at the
Meyer Werft
Research-task no 1: Find out about the transport of live
sheep from Fremantle to the Middle East
and Arabian countries. Where do the sheep come from? How are they
transported to Fremantle? Why are they shipped alive and not frozen?
What are the problems going along with this according to animal
welfare campaigners? How important is the export of sheep to the
Australian economy (or Australian farmers)?
You might start with one of the following
links but it might be helpful to use a search engine like www.alltheweb.com
and the search-words
|
+Fremantle +sheep
+"Middle East" |
Shipped sheep: http://www.cyber-dyne.com/~tom/sheep_die.html
Animal
Liberation (South Australia)
Live Export: Fact
Sheet 6
The
Ships of Shame
-
Research-task no 2: Find out about the port of Fremantle
