Heytesbury buys 11 live export vessels from Vroon in major livestock shipping deal
Australian cattle company Heytesbury is buying 11 purpose-built livestock vessels and Livestock Express from Dutch group Vroon in a major live export transaction.
Australian company Heytesbury has agreed a major deal with Dutch shipping group Vroon to acquire its Livestock Express subsidiary and a fleet of 11 purpose-built live export vessels. ABC Rural reported that the transaction gives Heytesbury ownership of what industry participants describe as the world’s largest fleet of this kind under a single company, strengthening its role in the global animal protein trade.
Heytesbury is owned by the Holmes à Court family and runs 165,000 head of cattle across 2.7 million hectares in northern Australia, including the well-known Victoria River Downs property. The business had already moved into shipping in 2019 when it bought the MV Ocean Swagman, which has since been operated by Livestock Express. The new deal takes that strategy much further by tying shipping capacity directly to cattle production.
The vessels included in the sale are Brahman Express, Friesian Express, Galloway Express, Ganado Express, Gelbray Express, Girolando Express, Gloucester Express, Greyman Express, Gudali Express, Murray Express and Shorthorn Express. Many of them are already active in Australia’s live export trade with Indonesia and other Southeast Asian destinations, giving the transaction immediate relevance for regional livestock supply chains.
Heytesbury chief executive Paul Holmes à Court said it was important that Livestock Express continue operating independently and servicing markets around the world. Vroon said it had spent 60 years building Livestock Express into the world’s largest independent livestock carrier and added that the new owner was well placed to preserve staff, expertise and customer relationships. According to Vroon, the fleet transports between 600,000 and 750,000 head of livestock each year.
Australian industry participants described the sale as a positive development. Australian Cattle Enterprises managing director Patrick Underwood said he expected business as usual and viewed the transaction as good news for the industry. Nick Thorne of NTXLS Asia said Vroon had set a technical benchmark in live export shipping through purpose-built vessels and significant ventilation improvements.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but market participants told ABC it likely represents an investment running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Heytesbury will also take over Livestock Express’s Singapore office and technical management services for third-party vessels. For the livestock sector, the move signals deeper vertical integration between cattle production and export logistics at a time when Australia’s live export fundamentals are still viewed as strong.