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A vessel that had its last port call in Korea was sent to anchorage after officials found thousands of spiders among its cargo.
The American Red Cross
The Port Authority of Guam said the ship, M.V. Altavia, arrived on Guam on Wednesday night carrying housing units and accessories that were to be used at the Ukudu Workforce Village in Dededo. The workforce village is expected to house up to 18,000 temporary workers.
The Port's Marketing Administrator Bernadette Meno said customs officers along with the vessel's agent boarded the ship and gave clearance to the stevedores to go on board and unlock the cargo for offloading.
It was then that thousands of the critters were found.
"When our port stevedores began offloading the insulation and beams for the housing units on the docks they discovered that hundreds of large spiders and thousands of small ones were on the cargo and on the ship," Meno said.
She added that the stevedores immediately 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, who instructed that the cargo be placed back on the ship and sent to anchorage.
According to Meno, the Harbor Master's office said the M.V. Altavia has been moved out to quarantine anchorage, which is located in the outer Apra Harbor area.
Port officials are now awaiting clearance from Guam Customs and Quarantine before allowing the vessel back on the docks, she said.
Maj. Darlene Merfalen, assistant chief of the Maritime/Air Cargo Division at Guam Customs and Quarantine, said a sample of the spider was sent to the Department of Agriculture's plant inspection facility to determine if the species is invasive.
Joseph Torres, director of the Department of Agriculture, said he will know the species of the spiders by today.
He said if the species is invasive two things will happen:
# The contents of the container will be fumigated.
# If more spiders are found in the container or in any other container, the ship will be quarantined.
"Those are the options, but there's nothing urgent for Guam at this time as far as threat to health and human welfare," Torres said.
Merfalen said the two agencies are working together with scientists from the University of Guam to identify the spiders, and will make arrangements for a local company to fumigate the vessel.
The fumigation will be paid for by the owner of the vessel and would be handled through its ground agent, Merfalen said.
Vice President of Marianas Steamship Agencies Inc. Richard P. Sablan said his agency is following the leads of officials from Customs, the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Coast Guard on the matter.
A vessel that had its last port call in Korea was sent to anchorage after officials found thousands of spiders among its cargo.
The American Red Cross
The Port Authority of Guam said the ship, M.V. Altavia, arrived on Guam on Wednesday night carrying housing units and accessories that were to be used at the Ukudu Workforce Village in Dededo. The workforce village is expected to house up to 18,000 temporary workers.
The Port's Marketing Administrator Bernadette Meno said customs officers along with the vessel's agent boarded the ship and gave clearance to the stevedores to go on board and unlock the cargo for offloading.
It was then that thousands of the critters were found.
"When our port stevedores began offloading the insulation and beams for the housing units on the docks they discovered that hundreds of large spiders and thousands of small ones were on the cargo and on the ship," Meno said.
She added that the stevedores immediately 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, who instructed that the cargo be placed back on the ship and sent to anchorage.
According to Meno, the Harbor Master's office said the M.V. Altavia has been moved out to quarantine anchorage, which is located in the outer Apra Harbor area.
Port officials are now awaiting clearance from Guam Customs and Quarantine before allowing the vessel back on the docks, she said.
Maj. Darlene Merfalen, assistant chief of the Maritime/Air Cargo Division at Guam Customs and Quarantine, said a sample of the spider was sent to the Department of Agriculture's plant inspection facility to determine if the species is invasive.
Joseph Torres, director of the Department of Agriculture, said he will know the species of the spiders by today.
He said if the species is invasive two things will happen:
# The contents of the container will be fumigated.
# If more spiders are found in the container or in any other container, the ship will be quarantined.
"Those are the options, but there's nothing urgent for Guam at this time as far as threat to health and human welfare," Torres said.
Merfalen said the two agencies are working together with scientists from the University of Guam to identify the spiders, and will make arrangements for a local company to fumigate the vessel.
The fumigation will be paid for by the owner of the vessel and would be handled through its ground agent, Merfalen said.
Vice President of Marianas Steamship Agencies Inc. Richard P. Sablan said his agency is following the leads of officials from Customs, the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Coast Guard on the matter.
Will that not do? 
That's not far off.
and 
is a bit closer to the mark.
is fairly close to the mark, nemo
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