The Canadian Coast Guard said a fire continued to burn in several containers aboard a freighter about five miles off Victoria, British Columbia.
The Coast Guard said in a statement it learned late Saturday morning that a fire had broken out in 10 damaged containers aboard the MV Zim Kingston, which is now anchored at Constance Bank, and that two of the containers were on fire contain hazardous materials identified as potassium amylxanthate.
The statement clarified that the ship itself was not on fire, but said an emergency zone has been set up for one nautical mile around the Zim Kingston, adding that there is currently no risk to the safety of people on earth.
The Victoria Joint Rescue and Coordination Center said 16 crew members were safely removed from the ship, while five others, including the captain, remained on board at their own request.
Canadian Coast Guard spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau said a Coast Guard-led incident command post on behalf of the federal government and British Columbia, as well as 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 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 the Vancouver Island, near Bamfield, British Columbia.
The Coast Guard said the containers, some of which contain hazardous materials, posed a significant risk to mariners and with the stormy weather forecast for Saturday, their recovery may be a challenge.
The Coast Guard said a hazardous materials management team from Vancouver is 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.
The Canadian Coast Guard, meanwhile, said it was working with the Emergency Management BC network to disseminate public safety information as needed.