Two interesting ships, above, tied up in surprisingly close proximity in Townsville , as usual , failed to get a mention in the local media . However, our alert shipping reporter , the only one in North Australia , was paddling by in the office coracle and discovered a most unusual story .
The large Japanese car carrier Pleiades Leader is shown just across the way from the Panama registered livestock carrier Jawan , Indian for a soldier . Our waterfront reporter discovered that Jawan , a former cargo ship, had a number of previous names- Maersk Westland , Dana Gothia , Charon J and Corvus J. Under the latter, in 2012, it impaled the vehicle carrier Baltic Ice in the North Sea , which sank in 15 minutes ,with a loss of 11 lives .
After undergoing conversion to a livestock carrier , it sailed out of the shipyard , now named Jawan , into Perth , Western Australia, in December 2015 to become involved in the trade .
The export of live cattle, we have pointed out , is a lively issue locally , people for and against , the Townsville abattoir finding it hard to keep operating , so you would think the Murdoch Townsville Bulletin at least would have noticed that another large livestock carrier was in port . In the case of the vehicle carrier, it is highly likely that it disgorged cars of various horsepower for Townsville and district-could there be a story here , one which the advertising car companies would appreciate ?
