Published on Australian Maritime Safety Authority (https://www.amsa.gov.au)

Master's report: carriage of livestock (AMSA Form 337)

Overview

Use this form to make a master's report on the carriage of livestock.

How to complete this form

You need to complete both pages of this form.

• Use page 1 to report ship, voyage, loading and discharge details.
• Use page 2 to report daily mortality and environmental conditions.

You must report:

• breakdowns affecting livestock services, electrical supplies or propulsion
• environmental conditions (these observations are important for investigations into high mortality)
• livestock mortality each day the shop is at sea (even if no deaths occurred)
• livestock mortality at each loading and/or discharge
• livestock mortality while the ship is in port.

You can include separate attachments if you run out of room on the form.

Important: If the report lacks detail or there are discrepancies in the ship's records, we may delay the ship at the next loading port. 

Total mortality

Calculate the total mortality for each species at the end of the trip. Record these details in the overall mortality box on page 1.

Total mortality is the number of animals that died on the ship from first loading to final discharge.

Submitting the form

The completed master’s report must be sent to:

1. Surveyor in charge
   Operations
   The nearest AMSA state and territory office to the Port of loading (contact your local ship agent for details).
2. Manager Ship Inspections
   Operations
   Email: MRCL@amsa.gov.au
3. Livestock Export
   Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
   Email: livestockexp@agriculture.gov.au

After submitting the form

Keep a copy of the master’s report onboard. Provide the report to the AMSA surveyor before the ship's next pre-loading inspection.

The Australian Government uses information from these reports to:

• check the livestock carrying performance of ships
• provide details for monitoring the livestock shipping industry
• conduct research.

Note: The Australian Government treats master's reports as ‘commercial in confidence’ and manages them accordingly.

More information

High mortality

Where a high mortality has occurred or is likely to occur (see table 8 of Marine Order 43) you should:

• tell AMSA as soon as possible, even if the voyage is incomplete
• provide AMSA with any information we request.

AMSA will determine whether to conduct an investigation. Do not assume that the ship will load at the next arrival point in Australia if an investigation is pending. 

Contact AMSA to check if an investigation is going to be conducted.  

Investigations

If AMSA does carry out an investigation, we may ask you for further information or testing. The ship won't be able to load until:

• the investigation is complete
• the ship resolves any issues identified in the investigation.

Contact us

Direct questions about the master's report form to livestock@amsa.gov.au.