The second batch of livestock transshipment to the Port of Salalah in Oman finally left the Lamu Port in Kenya over the weekend aboard MV Banyas 1 after a month of waiting to assemble the animals.
MV Banyas 1, a Togolese specially designed livestock carrier vessel docked at the Port of Lamu on November 4 to ferry the animals, among them camels, bulls, sheep and goats.
Lamu Port Cargo Operations Manager Peter Masinde confirmed the ship had set off for Oman on Saturday afternoon with 2,955 live animals, a journey that is expected to take one week.
Out of the 2,955 animals, 663 are camels, 375 are bulls, 867 are sheep and 1,050 are goats.
Initial reports from the Lamu Port Management had, however, indicated that over 7,000 livestock including 1,000 camels, 300 bulls, 6000 goats and sheep were to be ferried to Oman in the second transshipment.
Mr Masinde said apart from the live animals, MV Banyas 1 also ferried 2,491 bags of hay and silage to Oman in the second transshipment.
Lapsset Coast Regional Manager Salim Bunu noted that the ongoing shipment of live animals from Kenya to Oman via the Lamu port is crucial as that alone will alleviate losses for pastoralist communities where harsh climatic conditions have led to the deaths of livestock.
During the first transshipment, MV Banyas 1 transported at least 16,000 live animals including cows, goats and sheep from the Lamu port in October this year.
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