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27 Nov 2020 / Australia

2020-21 Burnt Pine Longicorn (BPL) flight season measures

Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment commenced its annual heightened surveillance regime for managing the risks posed by Burnt Pine Longicorn (BPL) beetles on vessels departing from New Zealand on 23 November.

After the submission of pre-arrival reporting by vessel masters or shipping agents, the Maritime Arrivals Reporting System (MARS) will email a BPL Questionnaire to targeted vessels.

The department’s Maritime National Coordination Centre (MNCC) officers will then advise, through the Biosecurity Status Document (BSD) issued from MARS, if a BPL inspection or any specific biosecurity risk mitigation measures are required.

Vessel masters and crew are urged to remain vigilant for BPL and advise the department, as soon as possible, of any suspected detections of BPL. Early detection and accurate reporting of pests prior to arrival assists in managing the risk offshore where possible and minimises the level of intervention by the department for vessel arrival.

The following are exempted:

  • Consignments already loaded onto vessels before the commencement of the flight season are exempt from Arhopalus treatment requirements.
  • Consignments already loaded and sealed into containers before the commencement of the flight season are exempt from Arhopalus treatment requirements.

For information about operations in Australia, contact GAC Australia at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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