On Thursday November 24, Biosecurity & Training South (BTS) biosecurity advisors/facilitators Emma Moloney, Brydyn Melles, and Harry Fairgray accompanied a senior quarantine officer (QO) for a tour of a PoFA (place of first arrival), Lyttleton Port.
Accompanied by the QO, staff visited various transitional facilities operating within the port. This included the dry dock, where vessels are treated for biofouling and the decontamination facility where containers receive a six-sided external wash before they are reinspected. Staff operating in or around these sites may sit either the accredited persons or transitional facility operator training courses under MPI biosecurity requirements for the port. Particular highlights included viewing swing lift operators (who monitor for external contamination) and watching the decontamination of a sea container.
Overall, BTS facilitators found the day to be beneficial to their ongoing development by getting a first-hand experience on how PoFAs function in terms of biosecurity.
We thank MPI for providing us with the opportunity to expand our knowledge as MPI approved facilitators and look forward to similar opportunities in the future.
