Last week a subscriber who is a longshoreman at the Port of
Los Angeles alerted us to a 9,000-TEU container carrier that was “yellow
flagged” because of a gypsy moth infestation discovered by US Customs and
Border Protection agents. Not to worry – the ship was quarantined and
fumigated, and subsequently released.
The idea of quarantine for a pestilent vessel makes sense,
and these cases are handled in a routine manner, on a fairly regular basis, and
sent on their way.
Of more concern would be the case of a vessel arriving with a
crewmember (or members) suffering from a communicable disease. Rest assured –
in this instance, the local branch of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be the entity tasked with addressing
the issue.
A media spokesperson for the CDC provided us with the
procedure following the case of a cargo ship that arrives with an onboard death
or illness:
Federal Regulations require the master of a ship destined for
a US port of entry to immediately report any death or illness among the ship’s
passengers or crew, including those who have disembarked or have been removed
from the ship due to illness or death. Reports must also (immediately) be made
to the nearest CDC Quarantine Station.
Required reporting includes persons displaying signs or
symptoms of a fever of greater than 100 degrees lasting more than 48 hours or
any fever accompanied by a rash, swelling of the lymph glands or jaundice.
Certain cases of diarrhea are also reportable, and cruise ships reporting more
than 13 diarrhea cases do so to the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program.
For passengers and crew, the CDC has a fairly straightforward
procedure, but what is the procedure for an unexpected traveler, or stowaway?
The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) have no
hard numbers for people who enter the country as stowaways, but have no fear-
the regulations are clear-cut:
If caught while aboard ship, a stowaway must be kept locked
up, treated in a humane manner, and turned over to the INS, who then fine the
ship and repatriate the stowaways to their country of origin, along with an
escort, at the vessel’s expense. The cost to vessel and crew is pretty good
incentive to encourage operators to do their best to ensure that no one manages
to stow away.
Even though thousands of stowaways are discovered every year,
many probably aren’t.
Last month a group of 35 men, women and children were found
inside a shipping container in the UK. They were discovered because one of
their number had died, and the remaining “passengers” we’re screaming for help.
Although the group was from Afghanistan, the West African ports of Lagos,
Nigeria and Abidjan, Ivory Coast are the leading ports of embarkation for
stowaways. They’re also “ground zero” for the Ebola virus. Recent container
stowaway discoveries include 12 people traveling from Ghana and Nigeria to
Spain.
With the current outbreak of a particularly virulent and
deadly virus in West Africa raging inside or adjacent to the two countries with
the highest number of stowaways, how is the US protecting itself from this very
real threat?
Another CDC spokesperson told us there are currently no
enhanced efforts to screen or address migrants who arrive in the US in a mode
other than airline travel. When asked what the commercial maritime industry
could do to safeguard against the possibility of sick stowaways, her response
was, “I don’t know.” We’re not reassured.
