A stand-off that involved the courts and the government ended yesterday after a shipment of 946.68 metric tonnes of bulk soybean meal left Guyana for France aboard the vessel Myra after local authorities refused to offload the cargo for fear of salmonella contamination.
This came even as the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority filed a notice of appeal motion against an order in favour of the cargo consignee, Didco Trading Company Limited, which would have allowed the soybean meal to be offloaded and stored in that company’s warehouse until tests for salmonella and other bacteria were concluded.
The motion of appeal was forwarded to the Chief Justice and will be heard in the Full Court before two judges.
Stabroek News understands that the 19-member crew had no water and a decision was taken for the vessel to leave these shores.
Didco, this newspaper understands, plans to have the tests on the cargo conducted through Lloyds of London surveyors on the arrival of the ship in France. If the tests reveal there was no contamination damages may be sought from the government. In a letter to Attorney General Doodnauth Singh SC, dated March 13, Didco had proposed that samples of the cargo be taken by Lloyds for analysis at an independent laboratory at the company’s expense, with a pledge that Didco would abide by the results.
Each day the Myra remained in Guyana the plaintiff was being charged a penalty of US$17,500, since the vessel had been expected to leave Guyana on March 11. The Myra was also expected to uplift a cargo of 15,000 tonnes of sugar while in Guyana.
The MV Myra, which had been moored mid-stream in the Demerara River, arrived in Guyana on March 10, but the authorities disallowed the offloading of the cargo after official correspondence from Guadeloupe through the Foreign Affairs Ministry said French authorities suspected the soybean meal was contaminated with salmonella.
The 946.68 metric tonnes of soybean meal was part of a 50,000 tonnes shipment imported by France from Brazil. The 946.68 tonnes were shipped from France for use in Guadeloupe. But French authorities, after testing samples from 5,000 tonnes of the soybean meal stored in a French warehouse, suspected salmonella and told Guadeloupe of this.
Didco had arranged with brokers in New York and Trinidad and Tobago to buy the soybean meal, after Guadeloupe refused it, leading to the vessel’s arrival in Guyana. After wharf authorities refused to approve the offloading of the cargo, Didco moved to the court on March 11 naming the Commissioner General of the GRA as the defendant.
On Monday, Justice James Bovell-Drakes had ordered that the Public Health Authority test the cargo and report on Tuesday. However, on Tuesday, the Authority did not present any findings of tests to the court and the judge made his final order.
The order on Tuesday was for the cargo to be stored in the plaintiff’s warehouse under the joint supervision of the Customs and Trade Administration and Ministry of Agriculture. Samples of the said cargo were to be extracted for analysis by the Public Health Authorities to determine if the soybean meal was contaminated with salmonella or any other bacteria, which would render it unfit for consumption.
The judge’s order also stated that in the event of the cargo being found to be contaminated it was to be destroyed or removed from the jurisdiction of Guyana and that the cost for the analysis of the cargo and for its destruction and/or removal from Guyana, if necessary, would be borne solely by the plaintiff. A stay of execution was also refused and the matter was ordered to take its normal course.
Managing Director of Didco Deo Singh said on Tuesday night at a press conference that 111 tests were conducted in France up to March 22 on portions of the original cargo, which revealed that there was no salmonella contamination. This document and several others he said was in the possession of government authorities.
Tuesday’s order rescinded earlier orders: on March 11 by Justice B.S. Roy for the defendant to permit the plaintiff to take delivery of the soybean meal to its warehouse and on March 21 by Justice Bovell-Drakes for the cargo to be stored in the warehouse of the plaintiff also under the supervision of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture until tests were conducted to determine if it was safe for consumption.
