A fourth cargo ship has been ordered to leave New Zealand waters following the discovery of stink bugs onboard.
The Glovis Caravel was ordered to leave New Zealand yesterday evening after the crew reported finding nearly 600 stink bugs, 12 of them alive, while the vessel was anchored near Auckland,
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) border clearance services director Steve Gilbert said.
"Even though the vessel was sealed, we assessed the risk was too high for it to remain in New Zealand waters. It will now have to be treated off-shore before it can return," said Gilbert.
MPI has increased its border inspection and verification of bulk carriers arriving from Japan following a recent jump in detections of brown marmorated stink bug.
"Some of the carriers arriving in New Zealand require no further action, but where there is contamination we have the option of denying entry," said Glibert.
