Ship from Saipan had snake on board

A ship that arrived at the Guam seaport Thursday morning from Saipan reportedly had what is believed to be a Brown Tree Snake on board. Whether the snake came from Saipan, or was on board the ship from its previous Guam dock is not yet known. Guam already is infested with the Brown Tree Snake. The invasive species has not yet been discovered officially on Saipan, Tinian, or Rota.

Kandit has reached out to the Commonwealth government for any information regarding surveillance as a result of this latest finding. A news release from the Port Authority of Guam on the matter follows:

Port employees found a snake inside a cargo hold on a container ship that was being discharged last night.

At 8p.m. last night Port stevedores were below deck on Bay 18 of the container vessel CMA CGM

Herodote when they discovered a snake. The vessel arrived on Guam yesterday morning from Saipan.

“Our Port employees immediately notified officials at Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency and the United States Department of Agriculture of what they had found and sent photos and video of the snake,” said Port General Manager Rory J. Respicio.

Guam Customs and USDA arrived at 10:05 p.m. and brought their dogs to try and locate the snake but were unable to find the snake.

Respicio noted that vessel operations continued except for a pause in Bay 18 as Guam Customs and USDA were trying to locate the snake.

Guam Customs and USDA officials left the Port at 1:15 a.m. this morning and indicated that although the snake could not be located, they were able to identify the snake through the photos and videos as a brown tree snake.