Adventurous , young , overseas backpackers on the ferry from Magnetic Island to Townsville were looking about as the vessel neared the terminal . The nostrils of one twitched. "Vot is that ?" he asked . A helpful local answered with the information that it was a smelly cattleboat ... tied up at the nearby cruise ship berth.
It was the Galloway Express , above , a distinctive Chinese built livestock carrier which strangely looks like one of those camouflaged ships of world wars . Like so many other cattle boats which come and go in Townsville, the vessel appeared to have slipped below the radar of the local media . On the other hand , all such vessels trading out of Darwin are noted , including the Galloway Express.
Was that a Collins Class submarine which slipped into port and what vessel collided with the channel marker off Magnetic Island , which now has a bobbing warning buoy attached to it ?
