China News Service, March 11, according to a report by the Greek "China-Greece Times" on the 11th, a Greek government source said a few days ago that Greece will transport 50% to the freighter Elbek, which has been trapped in the Mediterranean Sea for nearly three months and flying the Togolese flag. Tons of animal feed.
The ship is carrying 1,800 cattle and is currently moored near the port of Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese.
According to reports, the freighter Elbek departed from the port of Tarragona, Spain, to Turkey in December 2020, with 1,800 cattle on board.
After arriving in the Turkish waters, Turkish buyers refused to conduct transactions because they were worried about carrying the bluetongue virus. The Turkish government and many nearby countries also refused to allow the ship to dock. They did not even allow supplementary animal feed, making it an "international abandoned child" at sea.
An official from the Ministry of Shipping of Greece revealed that the Elbeik has been banned from calling at all ports in the country, but it has refueled in Crete in recent days and is currently docked near the port of Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese. .
An official of the Greek Ministry of Agriculture said that the Elbeik is expected to sail to Spain after the feed supply is completed.
It is not clear whether the Spanish government will allow it to return.
Another cargo ship, the Karim Allah, which also transported animals, was also rejected by Turkey.
After Karim Allah returned to Spain on February 25, a veterinarian believed that the animals on board were not suitable for food and ordered all of them to be slaughtered.
But the veterinarian’s report did not say whether the cows tested positive for the bluetongue virus.
Under normal circumstances, the bluetongue virus can cause lameness and local bleeding in cattle, but it does not affect human health.
The Spanish government stated in February 2021 that all animals on the two ships carried the necessary medical certificates when they left Spain.
(Zhang Wei)