Stop Live Export South Africa has added its voice to a major international campaign calling on the marine insurance industry to examine the risks associated with the global live export trade.
Stop Live Export SA joined 37 other animal welfare and protection organisations from across Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America in signing an open letter to the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). The letter raises concerns about the risk profile of the global livestock carrier fleet and asks whether current insurance practices adequately reflect those risks.
For Stop Live Export SA, joining the initiative is another opportunity to ensure that the risks and consequences of live export are raised not only with governments and exporters, but with the wider network of industries that enable the trade to continue.
The international campaign draws on the newly released 2026 Global Livestock Fleet Report, an analysis of 159 livestock carriers operating around the world. Its findings raise serious questions about the condition and oversight of the fleet.:
- Of the 159 vessels identified, 134 (or 84%) were not originally built to transport animals but were converted from other types of commercial ships.
- The average converted livestock carrier is 45 years old.
- Livestock carriers have also recorded the highest detention rates of any vessel category tracked by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding for at least six consecutive years.
- In 2024, their detention rate was about 15%, almost four times the average across inspected ships.
The report also documents recurring deficiencies involving navigation, fire safety, life-saving appliances, structural condition, machinery and pollution prevention. Between January 2024 and December 2025, 819 inspections of the 159 vessels resulted in 2,138 recorded deficiencies.
These risks are directly relevant to marine insurers. Insurance can cover the vessels themselves, live animals carried as cargo, and liabilities arising from pollution, crew injuries, cargo losses and the injury or death of animals in transit. The coalition is therefore asking whether existing underwriting practices, due diligence requirements and premium structures properly reflect the documented risk profile of the trade.
The letter calls on IUMI and its member associations to consider an independent actuarial assessment of the livestock carrier fleet, stronger due diligence standards, a review of premium structures and greater scrutiny of the reputational risks associated with underwriting the sector. Importantly, the coalition stressed that the approach was not asking IUMI to take a position on the ethics of live export. Instead, it asks the insurance sector to examine whether the risks it is underwriting are being adequately recognised.
Holding stakeholders accountable
For Stop Live Export South Africa, the initiative forms part of a wider effort to hold every stakeholder in the live export chain accountable. Insurers may not load animals onto ships or operate the vessels, but their involvement helps make the trade possible. We will continue working with our international partners to challenge the systems and industries that enable live animals to be exported by sea.
What you can do
Read the 2026 Global Livestock Fleet Report. Share it. Write to your local representative or the Department of Agriculture asking where South Africa stands on live export reform.
Support the organisations, like Stop Live Export SA, pushing for an end to live export. Sign our petitions, sign up for our newsletter and join our protests. Make your voice matter!
Join the movement to stay informed
- Sign the Petition to ban live export by sea
- Subscribe to the Stop Live Export SA newsletter
- Facebook: Stop Live Export SA
- Instagram: @stoplxsa
- Website: stopliveexport.co.za
