- A ship carrying Tesla electric cars has been forced to leave Australia and sent back to Shanghai after stink bugs were discovered on board.
- The vessel, initially granted entry, had some vehicles unloaded and delivered before biosecurity concerns were identified, leading to its return to China for further processing. Tesla Australia is exploring options to mitigate delivery delays for affected customers.
Australian authorities have sent a ship carrying Tesla electric cars back to China after stink bugs were discovered on board, reports Drive.
Stink bugs
A ship carrying Tesla electric cars has been forced to leave Australia and sent back to Shanghai after stink bugs were discovered on board – as the US car giant prepares to post its best annual sales on record.
Australian customers with Tesla vehicles aboard the ship have been advised the vessel has been “denied entry” into the country and must “return to Shanghai for further processing before re-entering an Australian port”.
It refers to the cleaning of the ship to eliminate yellow spotted stink bugs – among other live insects – which were deemed by government authorities to pose a “significant threat” to Australian agriculture and wildlife.
The ship is reported to have a capacity of 6500 vehicles, but it is unclear how many cars are currently on the ship, and if all are Teslas.
Social media reports claim the ship was initially granted entry into Australia, and a selection of vehicles were unloaded, checked for pests, sent to showrooms, and delivered to customers before the biosecurity hazard was discovered.
However, online ship trackers show the vessel is now returning to Shanghai, China.
It comes months after Australian ports were caught in a quarantine crisis, which created a traffic jam of ships anchored offshore or in transit between docks as cleaning teams raced to check and treat incoming cars for biosecurity hazards.
At one point – as exclusively reported by Drive – more than two dozen car-carrying vessels carrying an estimated 60,000-plus vehicles were waiting to dock and unload.
“We are actively investigating all available options to get your [vehicle] to you as soon as possible,” Tesla Australia told affected customers in a notice shared by multiple Tesla Model Y SUV buyers on social media.
“This may include reassigning your order to a vehicle from the next batch of production. Further details will be provided in the coming week.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry told Drive it “has been working with a vehicle carrier to manage biosecurity risks posed by live insects detected on the vessel and its cargo.
“There were multiple detections including Yellow Spotted Stink Bug, which poses a significant threat to Australia’s plant health and environment because of the damage it can do to agriculture crops, fruit, and ornamental trees.”
It is far from the first time a car-carrying ship has been turned back for cleaning at its port of origin – nor is it the first time it has occurred for the ship.
In 2018, when carrying cars from Japan, it was ordered to leave New Zealand waters after the crew reported finding close to 600 stink bugs – 12 of them alive – when anchored near Auckland, according to contemporary news reports.
