Wallenius Wilhelmsen experiencing ocean service disruptions due to BMSB
Wallenius Wilhelmsen has lately experienced certain disruptions to its services to Australia and New Zealand due to the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). The financial impact is relatively low, but we can not rule out a more material impact if the problem escalates in the months to come.
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) is an agricultural pest that feeds on, and can severely damage, fruit and vegetable crops. To prevent any transfer of the bug to Australia and New Zealand, import restrictions are in place between 1 September and 30 April, and surveillance activities are increased to monitor vessels arriving in Australia and New Zealand from the United States, Japan and certain European countries. Shipments on vessels from these countries must undergo mandatory treatment prior to loading.
Ensuring compliance is the responsibility of the importer, whilst presenting clean cargo at the port of load is the responsibility of the shipper. Wallenius Wilhelmsen is committed to maintaining the highest standards of biosecurity and takes great care to inform customers about the regulations and only accepts cargo that is certified as treated. The company also monitors cargo closely and reports any findings of suspected bugs to the authorites.
This season, Wallenius Wilhelmsen group companies have had instances of bugs found in cargo on-board. In most cases, fogging and follow up in line with offical instructions has been sufficient. However, three vessels have been prohibited from discharging cargo in November and December which has resulted in a need to fumigate cargo outside Australia and New Zealand. The financial impact so far is relatively low, estimated to about USD 3 million, but we can not rule out a more material impact if the problem escalates and continues throughout the period.
BMSB is an industry wide problem, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen, together with other shipping companies and importers, is working with authorities in Australia and New Zealand to further enhance biosecurity through more robust regulation and consistent enforcement.
About Wallenius Wilhelmsen The Wallenius Wilhelmsen group (OEX: WWL) is a market leader in RoRo shipping and vehicle logistics, transporting cars, trucks, rolling equipment and breakbulk around the world. The company operates around 130 vessels servicing 15 trade routes to six continents, and operates a global inland distribution network, 77 processing centres, and 13 marine terminals. The Wallenius Wilhelmsen group consists of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Solutions, EUKOR and ARC. The group is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with 7.500 employees in 29 countries worldwide. Read more at walleniuswilhelmsen.com
For questions, please contact: Bjørnar Bukholm SVP Finance and Strategy & IRO Tel +47 980 72 778 email: bjornar.bukholm@walleniuswilhelmsen.com
Anna Larsson VP Corporate Communication Tel: +47 484 06 919 email: anna.larsson@walleniuswilhelmsen.com