(Victoria) Authorities still do not know how many containers burned aboard a freighter off Victoria, British Columbia, a spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard said on Sunday.
The flames initially spread to 10 containers after 40 more fell overboard in rough waters on Friday, but JJ Brickett said the MV Zim Kingston blaze was mostly under control on Sunday afternoon.
SURFRIDER CANADA FOUNDATION PHOTO VIA REUTERS
“Looking at the current footage, it’s a pile,” Brickett said at a virtual press conference. The containers burned to their shells, then piled on top of each other. ”
Provincial and federal officials are working with all First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island while investigating the fire aboard the ship, he said.
The spokesperson clarified that the location of some of the containers that landed in the ocean is being tracked by helicopter, but efforts to recover them cannot begin until after a storm that is expected to worsen until Monday.
Steps to read labels on dropped containers to try to identify their contents have not been successful, Brickett said.
AMERICAN COAST GUARD PHOTO VIA REUTERS
The MV Zim Kingston had sustained damage while approaching Vancouver and the crew were in contact with the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada, he said, adding that the vessel had been assessed off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. where it had dropped anchor to be repaired and to await communications from Canada.
He said Transport Canada inspectors will be on board the vessel after the “emergency phase” of ensuring the safety of the vessel and those still on it, and that its Greece-based owner is providing assistance.
Earlier on Sunday, the Coast Guard said in a tweet that the MV Zim Kingston’s hull was cooled overnight by a tugboat spraying it with water. Applying cold water directly to the burning containers was not an option, as two of them contained 52,000 kilograms of a hazardous material identified as potassium amylxanthate.
They had noted that the fire aboard the ship, which is about five miles off the coast of Victoria, posed a significant risk to sailors, but not to people on land.
The Coast Guard said it learned late Saturday morning that a fire had broken out in 10 damaged containers aboard the ship, which is now anchored in Constance Bank, British Columbia.
They noted that the ship itself was not on fire, but said in a tweet that an emergency zone had been doubled to two nautical miles around the Zim Kingston.
The Victoria Joint Rescue and Coordination Center said 16 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship, while five others, including the captain, remained on board at their request.
Canadian Coast Guard spokesperson Michelle Imbeau said a Coast Guard-led incident command post on behalf of the federal government and British Columbia, along with First Nations representatives, is coordinating a multi-agency response to the incident.
She said the command post is also working with the U.S. Coast Guard to monitor the 40 containers that fell overboard the Zim Kingston in rough waters on Friday and are floating about 12 nautical miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Bamfield, British Columbia.
The Coast Guard said a hazardous materials management team from Vancouver was mobilizing and the owner of the Zim Kingston has contracted with the U.S. Resolve Marine Group for the rescue operations, which includes combating the fire as well as the recovery of containers.
Resolve Marine has mobilized two ships that are expected to be on site on Saturday.