page_title: Livestock carrier
section_title: Sizes and capacities
hierarchical_section_title: Livestock carrier / Sizes and capacities
caption_attribution_description: English: A loaded livestock carrier, Ocean Outback, entering the inner harbour of the Port of Fremantle, Western Australia. She had developed engine trouble about 10 days earlier, after her departure from Fremantle with a cargo of live sheep and cattle bound for Israel. Investigations at Henderson, Cockburn Sound, had later revealed that the faulty engine could not be repaired in Australia. Ocean Outback therefore returned to the inner harbour, where the sheep were unloaded and sent to a pre-export quarantined feedlot. The cattle were then redirected to Vietnam.
context_page_description: A livestock carrier is a large ship used in the live export of sheep, cattle and goats. They are specially built new or converted from container ships.
context_section_description: The size of this type of ship varies, according to market demands in different parts of the world at different times. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the principal livestock exporting nations were Australia and New Zealand and the main importers were nations in the Middle East. Vessels engaged in that trade have ranged in size from 2,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT) to 25,000 DWT. The limiting factors on ship size are complex. Bigger vessels can achieve economies of scale in their operations but also require more extensive port facilities to handle the larger numbers of livestock likely to be loaded or discharged.
  Livestock carriers carry more crew members than conventional cargo ships of a similar size. Experienced stockmen are an essential part of the crew. The total number of stockmen required varies according to the number of animals and also depends on factors such as the arrangement of the livestock pens and the extent of automated systems installed for feeding and watering.
  During the last three decades of the twentieth century, there was a progressive trend towards large vessels carrying greater numbers of animals. Prior to that, a significant limitation had been fresh water storage capacity on ships.
  To maintain condition, average-sized cattle require at least forty litres of water per head, per day. Sheep require at least four litres per head, per day.
  Developments in water production technology (salt water evaporators or reverse-osmosis systems) eventually led to livestock carriers with equipment capable of producing up to 600 tonnes of fresh water per day.
  Sheep and cattle also require fodder amounting to at least 2% of their body weight per day. Livestock carriers are required to carry sufficient feedstuffs for the maximum length of the voyage and adequate reserves for emergencies.
  Medium-sized vessels with capacity for about 30,000 to 40,000 sheep (or 3000 to 4000 head of cattle) are a common size for this type of ship. However, during the last two decades of the twentieth century, there were a small number of sheep carriers which had capacity for 130,000 sheep. There were at least two other large livestock carriers which specialised in combined cargoes of cattle and sheep. One had capacity for about 7,000 cattle and 70,000 sheep and the other could carry 14,000 cattle and 20,000 sheep.
  In 2007 the livestock carrier Deneb Prima was loading cargoes amounting to 20,000 cattle and 2000 sheep.
  The numbers detailed above are only general indications. The space allocated to animals on livestock carriers is officially regulated according to their size and weight ranges. Larger and heavier animals are allocated proportionately more space per head.
caption: Purpose-built livestock carrier Ocean Outback (7,907 DWT) entering Fremantle, 2016
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