But it never did, so now the government won't let the Palcencia go, until some commitment is made to pay the over 9 million dollar environmental fine arising from damage to the reef.

And while government seeks to vindicate its rights, the shipping industry is in a state. You see, the CFS Palencia is one of the ships that makes call in Belize almost every week bringing cargo out of Jamaica which originates in the far east, EUROPE, the Caribbean and Panama.

So right now none of those shipments - 120 of them - can come into Belize and are sitting at the port in Jamaica. And more than that, exports to those areas are also frozen - literally. We refer to 8 refrigerated 40 foot containers loaded on the ship which are Belize exports. They are citrus concentrate, shrimps and corn which were bound for Jamaica. They had already been loaded unto the ship when it was placed under arrest last week Friday at 3:30. They remain on the ship where it is under arrest in Belize waters, and no one can remove it. The ship also has its own containers bound for Honduras and Guatemala, which are also now stuck in transit.

And right now, according to our reports, the owners of the vessel who ultimately are liable for the fine, aren't talking to government. Seems they may be aware of the domestic pressures that may be brought to bear in view of the fact that a major shipping lane has been made inactive with consequential effects on trade.