ONE of the youngest ever captains of a livestock vessel arrived in Fremantle this week at the helm of the world's biggest livestock carrier, the Stella Deneb.
Thirty-year-old Laura Pinasco was appointed as captain of the Deneb a month ago and the Fremantle trip was part of her first voyage as its skipper.
Before arriving she had taken the Deneb from Darwin to the Phillipines and Indonesia with a load of cattle.
Ms Pinasco was born and raised in Genoa, Italy, and first went to sea in 1997.
Her career has included service as a deck officer on gas carriers and livestock vessels.
She qualified as a Master Mariner in 2003 and joined Siba Ships as a chief officer in 2006, working on a number of vessels including the MV Becrux, the world's most technologically advanced livestock vessel and the Deneb.
Siba Ships is an associate company of Wellard Rural Exports.
The Deneb set a world record last year when it transported 22,184 cattle from Darwin to South-East Asia ports.
Ms Pinasco was the chief officer on that record voyage.
She says captaining a livestock vessel is more challenging than other forms of carriers.
"You are responsible for a live cargo," she says.
"There is a high level of regulations that must be met, particularly when loading out of Australia and so you must always be aware of how the livestock are coping and travelling."
* From Farm Weekly, WA's premier weekly rural newspaper.
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