The Japanese Coast Guard found another sailor from the missing cargo ship on September 4th, 2020. This is the third sailor to be found from the 133.6-meter-long (438 foot) ship after their travel was unexpectedly interrupted by a typhoon in the East China Sea, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, with winds blowing at least 130 mph. (Source: CNN).
On August 17th, 2020, the Panamanian-flagged ship left Napier, New Zealand, and planned to arrive at Tangshan, China, with 43 people on board: 39 Filipinos, 2 New Zealanders, and 2 Australians, and almost 6,000 cows. (Source: CNN).
The Gulf Livestock 1 transmitted a distress signal early Wednesday when it was about 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Amami Oshima island.
The Coast Guard mentioned that the man, a 30-year-old Filipino named Jay-Nel Rosals, was found Friday afternoon about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from Kodakara Island. He was taken right to the hospital and was said to be alive, walking, talking, etc.
Unfortunately, the second crew member who was found floating unconsciously on Friday morning near Japan’s Amami Oshima Island was taken to the hospital, and later, a statement from the Coast Guard said that he had passed away.
According to CNN, “A lone Filipino sailor was rescued late Wednesday, after more than half a day in the water. He was in good condition, the Coast Guard said.”
On Friday, the Coast Guard also discovered a carcass of a cow near the island of Amami Oshima. Search and rescue operations are underway, according to the Coast Guard, and no other carcasses of cows have been found.
In New Zealand, a spokeswoman for the Ministry for Primary Industries said on Friday, there has been no "export of livestock for slaughter purposes" since 2007. Exceptions are permitted if the director-general of the ministry "judges that the risks can be handled adequately" according to his website, but the ministry claims that no exporter has ever applied.
According to The New York Times, the animals that were on board Gulf Livestock 1 were most likely pregnant. They were thought to have been sold for breeding, not slaughtered, except Mr. Appelbe, of SAFE, said that the cows end up getting slaughtered in the end no matter what. He explained, “It’s not like they get loaded back onto a ship to New Zealand when they’re done.”
"This is a real crisis, and our thoughts are with the families of the [40] crew who are [still] missing with the ship. But questions remain, including why this trade is allowed to continue," said Marianne Macdonald, a campaign manager for animal rights group SAFE NZ.