Spiridon II Hearing Adjourned Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. June 14, 2026 Source: Animal Welfare Foundation No settlement was reached on Friday at the Krems Regional Court in Austria regarding the civil proceedings concerning the animal transport of the Spiridon II livestock carrier. The hearing was adjourned. A new hearing, expected to last all day, has been scheduled for mid-November. Several witnesses from Turkey are also expected to be heard at that time. Turkish cattle importers are suing cattle dealer Christian Klinger and his company, Agro Breeding GmbH, based in Jagenbach, Austria. The plaintiffs are demanding the repayment of a down payment of $2.1 million, equivalent to approximately 1.8 million euros. They accuse Klinger of deceiving them and causing them financial harm in connection with the failed transport of nearly 3,000 cattle from Uruguay to Turkey in autumn of last year. During the hearing, the Judge focused primarily on the question of who was responsible for the condition of the animals upon their arrival in Turkey: Did the problems already exist when the animals were loaded in Uruguay, or did they arise during the voyage? The plaintiffs believe the responsibility clearly lies with Klinger. Klinger rejected all of the plaintiffs’ allegations in court. His defense attorney argued that the risk had passed to the buyers upon shipment.  Furthermore, the buyers had accepted the delayed shipment. According to his account, all ear tags were present and the transport proceeded without issue. It was only the unexpectedly long wait off the coast of Turkey that led to the subsequent problems, as the ship was not designed for such a prolonged delay. However, the fact that it had been proven that dozens of deaths and 140 births had already occurred on board during the voyage initially played no role in court. The plaintiffs countered that the ship was generally unsuitable for transport. They also claimed that a veterinarian hired by the importers had b