The sea transport of cows and sheep serves as a cover for international cocaine trafficking. In its report about “78 EU-approved livestock carriers” (2021) written with the support of the German NGOs Animal Welfare Foundation and Tierschutzbund Zürich, Robin des Bois had already noted that “during the trading life of livestock carriers, additional and illegal traffics have been reported or suspected.”
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Al Kuwait, 19 juin 2020, São Sebastião (Brésil)
© Herman Camilo
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Al Kuwait, 22 mai 2020, Fremantle (Australie)
© Brian Scott
– Further evidence of this has just been provided by the Al Kuwait. Before arriving empty on November 1 in Perth, Western Australia, and loading sheep bound for Qatar, one or more crew members threw at least 525 kg of cocaine with the value on the local market of 111 million US$ (96 million €) into the sea off Lancelin, 125 km north of Perth. The cocaine bales, attached to blue plastic barrels, were recovered by fishermen, the Western Australian Police and the Federal Police. The cocaine is allegedly from South America.
© Western Australia Police
Three Australians who attempted to recover the “goods” were arrested, as was the Croatian chief engineer of the Al Kuwait. The four of them face life imprisonment.
The Al Kuwait is known to Robin des Bois (Robin Hood). In February 2024, she made a technical stopover in Cape Town, South Africa, with 19,000 cows on board from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, bound for Iraq. They were in a pitiful, even desperate condition. Several of them had to be put down by the South African veterinary services, assisted by the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) (1).
“Passengers” of the Al Kuwait, February 2024, Cape Town © SPCA
Al Kuwait (ex-Ocean Shearer). IMO 9590931. Length 190 m, deadweight tonnage 16,110 t. Kuwait flag. Classification society: Registro Italiano Navale. Built in 2016 in Wafangdian (China) by STX Dalian. Shipowner: Livestock Transport & Trading Co (Kuwait), which operates 2 livestock carriers, the Al Kuwait and the Al Messilah. The shipowner Livestock Transport & Trading Co says it is ready to cooperate fully with the Australian authorities.
– Already, as noted in the report “64 EU-approved livestock carriers” (2024), “the Orion V coming from Cartagena (Colombia) and bound for Beirut (Lebanon) was boarded and searched on January 25, 2023, by the Spanish Navy and the Spanish customs off the Canary Islands and escorted to Las Palmas. She was transporting 1750 cows and 4.5 tons of cocaine worth 114 million US$ (105 million €). It was her first voyage under this name. Indeed, her name had changed, but she was still in a very poor state with her Togolese flag and a third rank classification society.” The Orion V was the ex-F.M. Spiridon. Since 2022, she had belonged to Sakai Global Inc, based in Pembroke Pines, Florida, United States of America. She was scrapped in Aliaga, Türkiye, in March 2023.
The F.M. Spiridon was managed by the same operator as the Spiridon II, which is also in the breaking news today. To the latest news, she is bound to Alexandria, Egypt, after calling at Benghazi, Libya (2).
Boarding of the Orion V off the coast of the Canary Islands, January 25, 2023 © Spanish Customs
– “On May 21, 2020, the Neameh was arrested and diverted to Algeciras while transiting Gibraltar Strait on suspicion of drug trafficking. She was en route from Cartagena (Colombia) to Damietta (Egypt). The Spanish customs agents did not find any drugs. They could not use sniffer dogs because of the stench. 4,000 cows were transported in alarming conditions, packed, among urines, manure and decomposing feed and a number of dead animals. The Spanish Health Ministry did not allow any cow to disembark or dead ones to be offloaded. After the search for drugs was called off, the ship resumed her voyage. 34 cows supposedly died but no carcasses were on board on arrival in Damietta” (extract from the report “78 EU-approved livestock carriers”, 2021).
(1) Previous press release on the Al Kuwait: “Trouble at sea”, February 21, 2024
(2) Robin des Bois press releases on the Spiridon II:
Press release n°4, “ Spiridon II – The ghost livestock carrier”, November 24, 2025
Press release n°3, “Dramatic turn of events”, November 24, 2025
Press release n°2, “26,000 km at sea for nearly 3,000 cows”, November 17, 2025
Press release n°1, “Livestock carriers: 2,901 cows in distress”, November 12, 2025
For more information about the transport of live farm animals by sea, see:
– Report “64 EU-approved livestock carriers” written by Robin des Bois and Animal Welfare Foundation, March 2024
– Report “78 EU-approved livestock carriers” written by Robin des Bois with the support of Animal Welfare Foundation and Tierschutzbund Zürich, June 2021
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