It has purchased two of the world’s flagship livestock carriers, the MV Becrux and the MV Stella Deneb, from an associated company, the Italian-based Siba Ships, for in excess of $US100 million.

And the cattle carriers have been renamed as part of a company makeover.

The MV Becrux, which can carry 18,000 cattle, has been renamed the Ocean Drover. The MV Stella Deneb, which has a similar cattle-carrying capacity, was re-christened the MV Ocean Shearer at a ceremony in Perth.

Both ships will be operated by a subsidiary of Wellards, Oceanic Livestock.

And two new livestock carriers are on the slips in Europe.

Steve Meerwald (pictured), the General Manager of the Perth-based Wellards and Oceanic Livestock, said that Siba ships are building two more ships, the MV Ocean Outback and the MV Ocean Swagman, each with a capacity of 17,000 cattle or 70,000 sheep.

While Oceanic Livestock invests in the future of the livex trade, the financial crisis has tightened the South East Asian market for live cattle.

The NT Government’s Pastoral Market Update for June shows a fall-off of total exports for the first half of the year of 57,885 – down almost 30 per cent.

Live cattle sales to every South East Asian market are down, with the biggest drop-off in the North Australia’s major market, Indonesia.

Cattle importers throughout the Archipelago took only 128,837 cattle during June, compared to a buy of 183, 179 during the first six months of 2008.

The much smaller Brunei market has halved its demand, while sales to the second biggest destination, the Philippines, has dropped from 6317 cattle in the first six months of 2008 to 5,946 for the same time this year.

The export of cattle sourced from Territory stations is down by almost 11,000 this year, showing that most of the export shrinkage out of Port Darwin is down to exports not having to truck in stock from Queensland and the Kimberleys to fill their order books.