increase font size
The Carmen ship.
Biosecurity New Zealand has directed a vehicle carrier to leave New Zealand waters following the discovery of stink bugs and other regulated pests.
Biosecurity officers intercepted three live and 39 dead brown marmorated stink bugs and 69 other dead regulated stink bugs after the Carmen arrived in Auckland from Europe on Wednesday morning.
The vessel was carrying a range of vehicles from Europe and the US.
“The interceptions indicated the cargo was likely to be infested with stink bugs. We also believed the ship itself was contaminated,” says Steve Gilbert, Border Clearance Services Director, Biosecurity NZ.
“We informed industry prior to the start of the season of our hard line on cargo vessels believed to be infested with stink bug.
“This is about ensuring a dangerous pest does not get a chance to establish in New Zealand.”
The vessel left Auckland earlier this afternoon. The vessel will now have to be treated off shore before it can return.
“If permitted to come back, the vessel should also expect intensive inspection before we allow any cargo to be discharged,” says Gilbert.
The Carmen is the first cargo ship to be ordered to leave New Zealand since the beginning of the 2018/19 stink bug season in September. In February, Biosecurity NZ turned around four bulk carriers arriving from Japan due to stink bug contamination.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is sometimes viewed as a dairy industry issue, but the reality is that the disease can have serious consequences for beef breeding herds as well.
Four years since it was first detected in New Zealand, researchers and growers now know much more about management of maize pest fall armyworm (FAW).
The apple sector is working with the Government to unlock access to two key markets that could bring millions in revenue for apple growers.
OPINION: Dairy farmers know better than anyone that change is constant.
An Auckland gelato shop and an established New Zealand ice cream maker have both been named Supreme Champions at the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards 2026.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.
OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…
