The latest: Jawan nears Aqaba, Al Messilah for Kuwait, Bahijah returning to Freo soon!

While the saga surrounding the Bahijah earlier in February was stretching out endlessly and endlessly, the Jawan, another livestock carrier who was alongside Bahijah in Fremantle Port off and on during this time, sailed, seemingly, for Aqaba, Jordan around 5 February 2024.

Jawan (L) and Bahijah in Fremantle, 1 February 2024

Then we lost sight of Jawan on ship tracking apps. It appeared she was anchored off Nor’West Cape off Western Australia for quite a few days.

The true story of course was that she was sailing to Aqaba as planned, through the dangerous Red Sea if possible. And to make sure no one much knew just where she was, she had her tracking info turned off. If for some reason she couldn’t enter the Red Sea, Jawan apparently had an approved contingency plan to offload her cargo via the Persian Gulf in Kuwait.

In this story that we posted on 6 February, we said it appeared Jawan was expected to arrive in Aqaba on around 18 February.

Jawan arriving in Fremantle from Vietnam, 1 May 2024

Well, lo and behold, as of right now, Jawan is on time and about to arrive in Aqaba.

Here’s her latest position as at 18 February courtesy of Marine Traffic.

And just to put into perspective where she’s now at vis-à-vis Freo, here’s a bigger map of the seas!

We are now watching Al Messilah as well. She sat around in Fremantle Port for nearly two weeks before departing port yesterday. It seems she’s headed for SWK, namely, Shuwaikh Port, Kuwait. No Red Sea for her.

Al Messilah, Fremantle, 5 February 2024

We still wonder whether some of Bahijah’s livestock cargo may have found its way on board Al Messilah before she left?

Oh, and if you’re asking yourself where on earth is Bahijah right now, well it appears she’s treading water out in the Indian Ocean due back in or around Fremantle Port on 23 February!