New Zealand introduces new biosecurity requirments

According to NorthStandard P&I Club, the PAR will not be mandatory for the first six months, during which MPI will still accept the MD and BBWD, but from 1 May 2025, it will become mandatory, and the old documentation will no longer be accepted. The PAR must be submitted at least 48 hours prior to arrival in New Zealand territorial waters.

As informed, New Zealand enforces strict biosecurity requirements for arriving vessels to minimize the risk of introducing unwanted pests and diseases. A step-by-step process has been outlined to clarify the necessary procedures. Thus, MPI recommends some key steps including the following:

Plan ahead

If you’re bringing a vessel to New Zealand, make sure you’re familiar with all the requirements, including those of other agencies like NZ Customs.

Minimum requirements for all vessels

All vessels arriving in New Zealand must meet minimum requirements, regardless of the length of stay or the ports they are visiting. Additional requirements may apply for vessels:

• Staying longer than about 4 weeks
• Visiting ports other than approved places of first arrival
• Cruise ships or vessels with passengers

At a minimum, all vessel operators must:

• Comply with requirements for their vessel type. Preparatory actions may include ballast water exchange in mid-ocean, offshore inspection for freedom from flighted spongy moth complex, and biofouling management.
• Arrive only at places of first arrival approved for the vessel type, cargo, and number of passengers (for cruise ships).
• Submit all documentation to Customs and border agencies at least 48 hours before arrival. Documentation requirements are outlined in Step 2: What you need to do.
• Complete an application form if arriving at a port other than an approved place of first arrival. This application should provide valid reasons and can take up to 10 days for a response. (Cruise ships should apply well before the season starts.)
• Treat or exchange ballast water intended for discharge to the required standard, unless using a shipboard treatment system.
• Manage all biosecurity hazards, including keeping decks and holds free of standing water (mosquito habitat), cargo residues, and debris that could harbor pests.
• Keep food stores and garbage secured, ensuring nothing is disposed of overboard except in compliance with international conventions (MARPOL Annex V).
• Comply with requirements for stores, dunnage (wooden packaging), and garbage on board.
• Meet import health standards for any cargo, including empty sea containers.
• Keep the vessel pest-free and report any pests or insects like ants, bees, wasps, or beetles to MPI.
• Be aware of specific controls to prevent the spread of flighted spongy moth complex and other pests.
• Ensure passengers and crew comply with New Zealand entry requirements.

Managing biosecurity risks

Vessels arriving in New Zealand may bring unwanted pests, diseases, or other organisms. All vessel operators should comply with the standard – Requirements for Vessels Arriving in New Zealand. They should manage risks associated with:

• Pests
• Garbage
• Food provisions
• Wood packaging and dunnage
• Animals and plants
• Ballast water
• Cargo

Watch out for hitchhiker pests

Vessels should be free of pests like ants, bees, wasps, beetles, and vermin. Of particular concern are flighted spongy moth complex (found as egg masses), brown marmorated stink bugs, and termites in wooden parts of vessels. Extra measures are in place to prevent these pests from entering New Zealand. Vessel operators should check if offshore inspection is required for specific pests.

Wood packaging

Vessel operators must comply with requirements for wood packaging material on board, such as dunnage, pallets, and wooden spacers.

A vessel is ready to arrive in New Zealand when:

• all required documentation has been completed and sent to MPI
• any passengers and crew permanently leaving the voyage have completed a passenger arrival card
• a certificate of freedom for flighted spongy moth complex has been obtained if the vessel has visited a risk port in Far East Russia. (MPI recommends also getting certificates if a vessel has visited other risk areas to reduce any potential delays or costs on arrival)
• all import requirements for goods for landing have been met
• the vessel is aiming to arrive at a place of first arrival (POFA) that has been approved for the  vessel type, cargo offloading, and number of passengers coming ashore, – or is aiming to arrive at another specified place, and approval has been received allowing arrival at that place and arrangements have been made for biosecurity risk management outside a POFA.

Prepare for when an inspector comes aboard

MPI quarantine officers and Customs officers may board your vessel at the first port you arrive at, or any other port you go to.

After meeting with masters or their representatives to review and complete documentation, inspectors may inspect areas of the vessel. In some ports, a vessel arriving after 5pm may have an inspection the next morning, unless it is due to leave before 8am the next day. Inspectors may discuss appropriate pest and garbage management programmes (where needed). Areas for possible inspection include:

• the decks, holds, superstructure for cleanliness and pests,
• galleys, and provision areas for prohibited or contaminated food and pests
• any animal on board to ensure they are secured
• the vessel’s garbage system
• ballast tanks – and possibly take samples
• any ship’s dunnage, wood packaging, pallets and other timber
• bicycles and sports gear for landing or use in New Zealand
• any baggage or belongings of disembarking passengers and crew.

Inspectors will also look at documentation, including:

• management plans and ship’s records relating to ballast water
• management plans and ship’s records relating to biofouling management
• garbage management plans
• pest management plans.