The ship was constructed as a container ship named Maersk Waterford by the Hegemann Roland shipyard in Berne, Germany. Her keel was laid on 4 April 2002, she was launched on 20 September, and was delivered on 9 December. She was renamed Dana Hollandia in 2006, Cetus J. in 2012, and in 2015 was converted to a livestock carrier named Rahmeh. In 2019, she was renamed for the last time to Gulf Livestock 1. She had a gross tonnage of 6,370 GT and a deadweight tonnage of 8,372 DWT. She measured 133.6m (438.3feet) long, with a beam of 19.4m (63.6feet), and was powered by a single diesel engine that gave her a speed of 18kn.
On her final voyage, Gulf Livestock 1 was carrying a cargo of 5,867 live cattle, and was owned by the UAE-based Gulf Navigation Holding shipping company. The vessel left Napier, New Zealand on 14 August, and was scheduled to arrive in the Port of Jingtang, Tangshan China on 3 September 2020.[2]
The ship sent a distress signal from the East China Sea west of the Japanese island of Amami Ōshima on 2 September 2020 at 1:40 am JST (4:40 pm 1 September UTC).[1] [3] The first survivor recovered reported that the ship's sole main propulsion engine failed during rough seas caused by Typhoon Maysak, and the vessel later capsized after being struck by a wave.[4] Before the ship capsized, the 34-year old Filipino ship captain was also able to tell his wife via instant messages that the worsening of the typhoon had caused the ship's engine to fail.[5]
There were 43 crew members on board, 39 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand and two from Australia.[2] The missing Australians were reported to have been an equine veterinarian and a stock handler.[3] One of the New Zealanders was a stock handler and wilderness hunter guide named Lochie Bellerby.
On 2 September, one crew member, a 45-year-old Filipino chief officer, was rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard.[1] On 4 September, a second crew member was found unresponsive in the water by the Coast Guard and died shortly after being rescued. In the same area, several cattle carcasses and a life vest were also recovered.[6] A second survivor, a 30-year-old Filipino deckhand in a life raft, was rescued on the afternoon of 4 September just after 4:00pm.[7] On 9 September, the Coast Guard suspended the search for survivors.[8] The tragedy led New Zealand to reconsider the exports of livestock by sea.[9]