The Canadian Coast Guard announced on Sunday that it had observed “a reduction” in the flames aboard a Cypriot container ship whose fire resulted in the evacuation of 16 crew members and since Saturday generated toxic gas off the coast of France. the Canadian-American Pacific Coast.
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“Active firefighting is underway on the Zim Kingston, but we are seeing a reduction in fire and smoke,” the Canadian Coast Guard said on Twitter.
The shipowner, the Cypriot company Danaos, even said in a statement to AFP that “the fire seems to be under control”, allowing claims adjusters “to get on board to ensure that the conditions are met. to allow the crew to return on board ”.
Although a priori the situation does not present any risks on land, such as an oil spill or a toxic tide, “strong gales are expected in the region” Sunday evening and “the teams will monitor the quality of the sea. air both on the water and from the shore, ”observed the Canadian Coast Guard.
Winds of 70 km / h were indeed expected Sunday evening in the Victoria region of British Columbia, off which the container ship anchors. Precisely, the Cypriot ship is in the Strait of Juan de Fuca which marks the maritime border between Canada and the United States, explained its owner.
He was in these border waters Friday evening “while waiting to be able to access the port of Vancouver, when an extreme weather event caused a significant list of the ship, which resulted in the fall overboard of containers”, summarized the Cypriot shipowner.
It is following this incident that two damaged containers caught fire on Saturday, continued the company Danaos, while the Canadian coast guard had indicated Sunday morning that “a fire broke out in 10 containers”.
The decision to evacuate was then taken by the ship’s captain and 16 people were evacuated, according to the coast guard. The captain of the container ship “and key personnel remained on board to supervise the fight against the fire,” Danaos said.
“Due to the nature of the chemicals on board the container ship, applying water directly to the fire is not an option,” the Canadian Coast Guard said on Twitter.
A tug deployed on the site of the fire, the Seaspan Raven, however “cooled the hull of the Zim Kingston by spraying it with cold water” overnight from Saturday to Sunday, noted the Canadian authorities.
According to public television, Radio-Canada, 40 containers were lost in the Pacific Ocean and the Canadian Coast Guard and their American counterparts were working together to find them.
“Responders are mobilizing to fight the fire and recover the containers that were detached from the ship on Friday,” also said the coast guard, which has erected an “emergency zone” of two nautical miles, prohibited to navigation, around the ship.
The container ship carries more than 52 tons of chemicals, according to Radio-Canada citing the coast guard.