Quarantine Management

Biosecurity is a relatively new term. It is significantly broader than quarantine. Biosecurity is defined as ‘The protection of the economy, environment, and human health from the negative impacts associated with entry, establishment or spread of exotic pests including weeds and diseases.’

Biosecurity is an increasingly important consideration in global shipping. This is especially true when dealing with very large modularized and heavy lift cargo that needs to go directly to the site. It is essential that quarantine management and clearance with authorities on arrival is carefully planned and considered well ahead of time. Some countries such as Australia can order re-export of cargo (at the client’s expense) when deemed to be contaminated.

CEA Managed Quarantine Service

CEA takes very hands-on approach to quarantine management. Building a quarantine culture has been a cornerstone in meeting project compliance and has become a shared responsibility with staff acknowledged for their participation. Regular toolbox talks are delivered to staff each week (in Thai and English) to raise awareness of seasonal issues for site personnel to be aware of.

Thailand has only three seasons. Quarantine management ensures the approaching biological risks are assessed and preventative measures put in place. A good example of this is the knowledge that rats breed during the winter months and the need to load the rodent bait stations with extra baits during these months and to check more regularly for any increased activity.

Quarantine Management Plan

At a high level, there is a “Quarantine Management Plan” which identifies all areas required to meet compliance. Areas include; staffing responsibilities, definitions, pest management programme with site maps indicating the tools used to keep the area free of Quarantine Risk Material (QRM) Underlying the plan are procedures and check lists as supporting documents The Procedures offer more detail as to how the site will address quarantine needs whilst the check lists tick all the boxes to meet ISO auditing requirements.

Peripheral Services & Treatments

Methyl Bromide remains the most preferred fumigant for quarantine purposes given its broad spectrum and penetrative ability. CEA has invested in a gas recapture system from “Nordiko, Australia” which allows for fumigation within the port environs.

Quarantine Remediation Team

Our team members are fully employed in helping to maintain Quarantine compliance in all of our yards at Laem Chabang.

The Quarantine Remediation Team has a good gender balance to meet the demands of cleaning cargo and containers for export as well as yard remediation to meet quarantine compliance.

Managing quarantine in the tropics is challenging with so many approaching biological risks. Tasks include; cleaning yard drains to eliminate the risk of mosquitoes, maintaining salt barriers to stop the ingress of snails, and collecting quarantine risk material to prevent export cargo becoming contaminated.

Export cargo and containers are remediated by the team using pressure washers, mops, vacuum cleaners or brooms to remove all quarantine risk material such as soil, seeds, and leaves.

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