Talks are under way to sail 56,000 sheep to the Middle East after the ship they were bound for became stranded in a Western Australian port amid a coronavirus outbreak.
The Al Kuwait docked in Fremantle on Friday with 48 multinational crew on board and 12 cases had been confirmed by Thursday.
The infected crew and dozens of their colleagues are in hotel quarantine, while a skeleton crew of 10 remains on board.
With the northern summer live export ban beginning on Monday, the scramble to get the sheep to the Middle East as soon as possible is on and will require an exemption by the federal agriculture department.
WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan revealed negotiations were under way to use the Awassi Express, now named the Anna Marra, which is not far off the Fremantle coast.
Ironically, that vessel sparked the ban following outrage over mass sheep deaths caused by heat stress on a 2017 journey.
"Hopefully we can get that arrangement," Ms MacTiernan said on Thursday.
"We know that they were looking at the possibility of getting a new vessel in to get that loaded and get that away as early in June as we can."
Sending the sheep to local abattoirs is considered a last resort.
Meanwhile, local workers who boarded the vessel before the infections were confirmed, including a Fremantle Port Authority pilot and a trainee who steered the ship into harbour, are self-isolating at home while awaiting test results.
State Health Minister Roger Cook said they were expected on Friday.
Australian Associated Press
