BIW is expected to conduct a third dive under the dry dock to see if any of the organisms are still alive. It's not clear how the company would remove the organisms from the dry dock, which is 750 feet long and 150 feet wide. BIW took precautions to avoid bringing invasive species in ballast water tanks, but apparently did not inspect the hull before its arrival. Carlton, director of the Maritime Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport, said it's impossible to predict which organisms will resettle and which will simply die in their new environment. A large dry dock towed from Guam to Pearl Harbor several years ago carried foreign mollusks that did survive and spread, he said.
Invasive species can affect entire coastlines when they reproduce and spread.
But some Maine conservationists are particularly concerned because the creatures arrived in the Kennebec, a prominent Maine river that has been the subject of expensive wildlife-restoration efforts. Keliher and others also criticized the company for adding to fears by withholding information. Ham said the river and Merrymeeting Bay make up a delicate ecosystem. She called the unidentified organisms in Bath an eye-opener. But it certainly seems to be a warning that we should take heed of.