Lady Zai on the coast of St. Lucia.
Officials from the Ministry of Health have lifted the quarantine on a foreign vessel that docked at the Castries port of harbor, about a week ago.
However, officials are now awaiting the result of tests done on the cargo, which are mainly animal grains.
Chief Environmental Officer Wenn Gabriel said the cargo has been offloaded and is being stored in a safe place, until the results of tested samples are completed.
According to him, samples of the animal grains have been sent to the Victoria Hospital, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and a local private medical institution. Gabriel said the results from these samples are expected soon.
The chief environmental officer, along with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, conducted an assessment on the ship on Tuesday and took these samples.
Chief Environmental Officer Wenn Gabriel.
The Ministry of Agriculture, he said had advised his team to offload the cargo, citing that it does not pose a health risk to animals or people.
However, as a precautionary measure, the cargo is being stored in a safe place and will only be released until the results are out.
Gabriel noted that as a result of this incident, the ministry and by extension the government, will have to look at ways and means of improving this type of response, thereby, meeting International Health Regulations (IHR).
This he said is especially important, since the world has now become a global market and trade relations will therefore increase. It also opens up chances of more of these incidence happening. Gabriel said unless St Lucia moves towards meeting these requirements, it will continue to face challenges when dealing with such issues.
However, he is hopeful that this could be done at the soonest possible time, so that in the case of another event like this, the ministry will be more efficient in handling the issue.
Meanwhile, Senior Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health Dr. Sharon Belmar-George said under the guidance of the Chief Medical Officer, the quarantine was lifted on the cargo-vessel Lady Zai, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, from since Sunday March 9, 2014, when it was first arrived here.
Dr. Belmar-George noted that the crew members on board the ship, was given specific guidelines to ensure that the entire ship is properly sanitised.
Apart from that, the health official said it has been a challenging experience, especially since the ministry was not faced with such an issue in a very long time. Dr. Belmar-George said that many lessons were learnt from the experience and the ministry will work to make responses to these cases more effective and efficient.
Managing Director of Caribbean Grains Limited Max Edouard, for which the cargo shipment was destined for said that this shipment was the first bulk shipment, imported to St Lucia. He explained that the animal grains is intended to be sold on the market and used to produce food for broilers, layers and pigs. Edouard said this shipment is meant to create cheaper prices on the market for animal grains.
While admitting that he was distressed over the situation, the business man said he has no fears about tests or inspections being conducted on the cargo, specifically because the products have been purchased from a first class grain trader, in the United States.
This cargo has been dispatched to Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana and now St Lucia.