The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has expressed its disappointment that the custom-built livestock carrier the MV Alondra will not be carrying Irish calves to the continent this spring.

ICMSA president Denis Drennan said it was a pity that the major calf exporters did not commit to utilising the Alondra and he urged them to engage further with the ship owners to ensure that the opportunity was not completely lost.

“In terms of delivering the calves to buyers in continental EU, the MV Alondra would have provided a positive additional option to the existing ‘roll-on, roll-off’ service and would have provided the shippers with a credible alternative for the shipment of calves going forward,” Drennan said.

“With the shipment of live animals at record levels in 2024, ICMSA believes that the shippers should be exploring all transport options and we urge them to engage immediately and utilise the ship going forward,” the ICMSA president added.

Waterford to the Netherlands

The MV Alondra, which is jointly owned by Irish company Limetree Global Shipping and Bjorn Claussen from Denmark, had been approved by the Department of Agriculture to take 5,000 calves per voyage directly from Waterford to the Netherlands.

The ship was expected to transport 50,000 calves in total this spring, or around a quarter of Ireland’s total annual calf exports.

However, the owners of the MV Alondra claimed that Dutch calf importers were unable to get Irish exporters to agree to use the ship.

Irish calf exporters claimed cost was a major factor in their decision not to use the Alondra.

But Dave Geary of Limetree Global Shipping pointed out that the Alondra could potentially carry 8,000 to 10,000 calves per voyage and he rejected the exporters’ assertions regarding transport costs.