The car carrier “Arc Commitment” had to be evacuated in Bremerhaven after black widows were discovered on board.
A bite from this venomous spider is life-threatening for humans. It is currently not known how many of the animals are on board and how they got onto the ship. The “Arc Commitment” left the port of Gdansk for Bremerhaven on 14 July.
Black widows are fumigated
As the magazine Buten un Binnen reported, the spiders had already been discovered on Wednesday last week. They are to be fumigated by order of the port medical service. The crew of the ship was initially distributed to other ships; the onward journey of the transporter will be delayed.
A bite from the black widow (Latrodectus variolus) can lead to paralysis and convulsions, as well as respiratory paralysis or a heart attack. Risk groups such as people with previous illnesses, the elderly and children are particularly at risk of dying from a spider bite.
The “Arc Commitment” sails under the US flag. The car carrier is 230.8 metres long and 32.2 metres wide and has a capacity of 7,879 CEU. It is operated by the American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC).
