Ports inspect ships from Brazil

Monday, April 21, 2008

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Banten

Following the discovery of the environmentally-destructive South American Leaf Blight spore in Banten, authorities at the Merak Port in Cilegon have started to apply strict controls on ships arriving from Brazil.

"We have done this following reports that the spore has been found on rubber leaves at several plantations here," Rahmat Kurnia, the coordinator of plants quarantine station at Merak port, said Saturday.

He said the spore, also known as Mycrocyclus ulei, was a kind of plant disease that caused rubber leaves to dry and die, and originated in Brazil.

Rahmat said the spores were virulent mushrooms that had killed thousands of rubber plants in the country.

"It took us three days to observe a Brazilian vessel, MV Kater Wave, which entered Merak recently," he said.

However, he said officials had not found the spores on the vessel that transported 9,000 tons of soybeans and animal food.

"We also examined all crew members of the vessel including their luggage, because the spores can easily stick to any object," he said.

Rahmat said the spore could survive under ultraviolet, detergent or laser beams in tropical countries like Indonesia for up to 16 weeks.

"If we find the spores in any vessel that enters the port, we will not allow it to unload anything. So far we could only find corn, soybean and animal food from Brazilian vessels," he said.

Meanwhile, Achmad Suhendarsyah, head of sea traffic division at the port management, said various plants and animals transported from overseas had to be examined at the quarantine station.

"Our (quarantine) system works well and so far, any vessel that enter Banten always reports to the port administration and we forward the reports to related agencies here," he said.

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