A vessel carrying supplies for a village in Dededo was turned away at a Guam port after an infestation of spiders spilled out as the cargo was being offloaded, according to the Pacific Daily News.
The MV Altavia, arrived in Guam on July 14 with housing units and accessories, according to the Pacific Daily News. When thousands of spiders of different sizes were discovered in the cargo, however, the Department of Agriculture would not allow the ship to dock at the port.
The containers that had been unloaded were ordered back on the ship and the ship was also ordered to anchor offshore, reported the Pacific Daily News.
“When you get this many from this from various sizes it’s definitely an infestation,” said Department of Agriculture Director Joseph Torres. “It’s not on Guam. We don’t want it here.”
Department officials said that the spiders’ species have not yet been determined because experts who can identify them are not on the island, reported the Pacific Daily News. It is still unknown if the spiders are venomous.
There were suggestions of fumigating the ship, according to Torres, but there was not enough plastic available to seal the entire vessel.
The Port Authority of Guam received instructions from the Department of Agriculture to send the ship back to where it came from on July 16, according to the Pacific Daily News.
“We will allow the agent to coordinate necessary provisions for the ship, such as fuel, prior to departure,” said the Port’s marketing administrator, Bernadette Meno.
The MV Altavia, arrived in Guam on July 14 with housing units and accessories, according to the Pacific Daily News. When thousands of spiders of different sizes were discovered in the cargo, however, the Department of Agriculture would not allow the ship to dock at the port.
The containers that had been unloaded were ordered back on the ship and the ship was also ordered to anchor offshore, reported the Pacific Daily News.
“When you get this many from this from various sizes it’s definitely an infestation,” said Department of Agriculture Director Joseph Torres. “It’s not on Guam. We don’t want it here.”
Department officials said that the spiders’ species have not yet been determined because experts who can identify them are not on the island, reported the Pacific Daily News. It is still unknown if the spiders are venomous.
There were suggestions of fumigating the ship, according to Torres, but there was not enough plastic available to seal the entire vessel.
The Port Authority of Guam received instructions from the Department of Agriculture to send the ship back to where it came from on July 16, according to the Pacific Daily News.
“We will allow the agent to coordinate necessary provisions for the ship, such as fuel, prior to departure,” said the Port’s marketing administrator, Bernadette Meno.
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