Free Republic

U.S. Customs and Border Protection ordered a Panama-flagged bulk carrier to immediately depart U.S. waters earlier this month after the discovery of invasive insects on board. CBP says the M/V Pan Jasmine arrived at an anchorage down river from New Orleans on July 17th, arriving from Paradip, India via Vera Cruz, Mexico. An initial inspection of the vessel raised some red flags after it was discovered that the wood used secure a previous cargo of aluminum, known as “dunnage”, was left scatted on the deck, rather than offloaded in Mexico. This prompted a closer inspection by CBP and USDA personnel...

Not every day does a large cargo vessel get booted from U.S. waters after the discovery of invasive insects from China. According to marine news website gCaptain, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier called M/V Pan Jasmine was anchored downriver from New Orleans on July 17 when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discovered five different pests, including two species (namely Cerambycidae, a type of beetle, and Myrmicinae, colonizing queen ants) that are known to pose a significant agriculture threats to U.S. farmland. The significant presence of pests onboard the vessel forced CBP to expel it from U.S. waters. New Orleans...