NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Officials in Grand Bahama were last night incinerating insect-infested wood and fumigating exposed areas after a cargo ship reportedly offloaded it without proper approval.

Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources Michael Pintard said an investigation has been launched into how the vessel was allowed to drop off the wood.

He addressed the matter as a guest on Beyond the Headlines with Clint Watson.

“We have a massive team incinerating the wood at Sanitation, fumigating both at Bradford Marine and Sanitation and we are carefully trying to find out how is it possible that a vessel can come into The Bahamas, dock, drop off the items…I’m not God, so I’m not omniscient, so I don’t know and that’s why we do investigations… and to find out how they can drop off the wood, and leave because we intended to detain whoever had done it and we will find out from the shipping agency, the barge that transferred and everyone who had custody of the wood so we are addressing it.”

Pintard did not reveal any further details; however, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in a statement on Wednesday, said a vessel it removed was on its way to Freeport for disposal services.

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