Dangerous animals - Gift spiders: Black widows discovered on cargo ship
On board a cargo ship in Bremerhaven, Black Widows have been discovered. These are poisonous spiders. "Some living animals were found under a container," said Harbor Captain Stephan Berger from the Bremen Harbor Office. As a result, the unloading of the ship was stopped. There is reportedly no danger to the population.
There was no evacuation of the blue-white ship, as some media reported. "The crew is still on board," said Berger. In the coming weeks, the entire ship is expected to be sucked out with special equipment, similar to the extermination of the Brown Recluse Spider. This is expected to take about three weeks. The cargo ship is to be relocated to another pier.
According to Berger, two decks that can be hermetically sealed are affected. Therefore, the spread of spiders is practically excluded. It is still unclear which type of Black Widow it is. Berger could not find and capture any spiders for examination during a ship inspection. The venom of all types of Black Widows can lead to paralysis in humans, he explained.
Harbor Captain Berger also emphasized that spiders in cargo holds of cargo ships are by no means unusual. The affected crew has also had experience with similar incidents and is therefore very calm.
The captain of the US cargo ship "Arc Commitment" had already reported a possible infestation before arriving in Bremerhaven on Wednesday. This had already been noticed and treated at the previous port in Poland, Danzig. "Some spiders apparently survived," said Berger. Since the arrival in Bremerhaven, a thorough search for the animals has been conducted.
- The "Arc Commitment," a US cargo ship, had previously encountered an issue in Danzig, Poland, where some Black Widow spiders were discovered and treated.
- The cargo ship, originating from the United States, was scheduled to unload its cargo at Lower Saxony's Bremerhaven port.
- The discovery of Black Widow spiders on the ship prompted the use of specialized equipment for an extended period in Bremerhaven, a process similar to the eradication of Brown Recluse spiders from cargo ships.
- Despite the presence of Black Widow spiders on the ship, there was no need for an evacuation due to the safe containment of the affected areas, as confirmed by Harbor Captain Stephan Berger.
