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A Korean ship was denied permission to dock, after inspectors discovered thousands of spiders in its cargo. It was carrying supplies to erect housing for 18,000 temporary military workers in the American territory of Guam.
Bernadette Meno, marking administrator for the Port Authority of Guam, said “Before the M.V. Altavia initially docked, officers with the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency boarded and gave clearance for the cargo to be unlocked for offloading”.
The insulation and beams for housing units were a portion of a $200 million contract with Korean construction firms. The Guam Department of Agriculture said hundreds of large spiders and thousands of smaller ones were discovered when stevedores began offloading from the ship.
Immediately the stevedores notified Port police of the incident along with the ship's agent. The Port police also notified officials at the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency.
The cargo was packed back into the vessel and instructed to go back to anchorage. The Agriculture Department later sent the ship to quarantine, in the outer Apra Harbour area and would not be allowed to dock. The ship was last ported in South Korea.
Department of Agriculture Director Joseph Torres said "When you get this many from this many various sizes, it's definitely an infestation"
There was concern the spiders could damage the island's environment. Agriculture officials said they didn't know what type of spiders were on the ship. Torres said "It's not on Guam. We don't want it here."
The contents of the container will be fumigated, paid for by the owner of the vessel, if the species of spiders proves to be invasive. If more spiders are discovered, the ship will remain in quarantine.
Vice President of Marianas Steamship Agencies Inc., Richard P. Sablan, said his agency is following the instructions of officials from the Department of Agriculture, Customs, and the U.S.A. Coast Guard on the matter.
Infestations on ships are not uncommon, from insects, to mites, rats, cockroaches and fire ants. These can persist for years in ships, even after the initial infestation has been dealt with.
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