Transportation Safety Board | Canada not well prepared for marine emergencies, says federal agency

(Vancouver) The chair of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) says it was luck, rather than preparation, that helped put out a fire on a cargo ship off the coast of Vancouver Island in October 2021.

Kathy Fox has argued that more urgent and effective action is needed to address maritime emergencies in Canadian waters after the MV Zim Kingston spilled more than 100 containers and subsequently caught fire, leaving hundreds of tons of debris in the ocean. Much of this debris still washes up on shore years later.

“During this incident, it was extremely fortunate that the ship manager had made prior arrangements for an emergency response and that there were properly equipped vessels nearby,” Mr.^me Fox speaking to reporters in Vancouver on Wednesday when the report was released.

“It is important not to confuse this luck with emergency preparedness. Next time we may not be so lucky,” she warned.

The TSB report says that while the federal government is working on a number of potential improvements, it will take years for them to be implemented and, in the meantime, gaps in Canada’s preparedness for marine emergencies could pose a risk to vessels, the environment and public health and safety.

The committee’s report said the incident “raised questions about the availability and capacity of Canadian resources” in the event of an emergency.

M^me Fox said an estimated 1,490 tonnes of cargo was lost overboard after 109 containers spilled, of which only four have been recovered. She added that 97 per cent of the debris remains in the waters or will end up washed ashore.

“Losing a container can take seconds, but years later the damage remains,” she illustrated.

Less than two days after the containers fell from the ship, which was anchored off Victoria, a fire broke out in a container containing dangerous potassium amylxanthate, which then spread to other cargo.

The fire lasted for five days.

No emergency plan

The TSB report says Canada has no plan to respond to incidents involving harmful substances other than oil. Its authors also call for a comprehensive guide to dealing with ships that capsize, as in this incident.

Unlike the United States, Canada does not require pre-established fire or marine rescue plans, and the Canadian Coast Guard is not directly involved in fire suppression.

In the case of the Zim Kingstonbecause the ship frequently sailed in U.S. waters, it had a plan and was able to call on two vessels with firefighting capabilities, said lead investigator Étienne Séguin-Bertrand.

M^me Fox argued that Canada has the power, in the short term, to implement regulations requiring ships entering Canadian waters to have similar pre-established plans.

“So we think if Canada can implement these regulations sooner, it will at least improve the speed of the response,” she said.

Prevention and monitoring

The report said the Greek ship experienced what is known as a “parametric roll” when it heeled 36 degrees, caused by a complex combination of factors involving the sea state and the ship.

“Not only is it difficult to predict exactly when a parametric rolling event will occur, but once extreme rolling begins, it may not be possible to stop dangerous movements before negative consequences occur, such as the loss of containers,” the report says.

He says the focus should be on monitoring the conditions that give rise to rolling so that preventative measures can be taken.

The owner of the Zim Kingston had not developed procedures to manage the risk of such rolling, the report said.

“As a result, this risk was not effectively monitored and no mitigation measures were put in place while the vessel remained offshore.”

The report notes that international guidelines for addressing parametric rollover risk have not been updated in 17 years and do not provide policies, procedures, training, tools or services that could help.

New guidelines have been created, but the safety committee says it is unclear when they will be implemented for existing ships and they do not address crew training.

The TSB investigation reports that the Canadian government intends to create a single system to respond to all marine pollution incidents and that Transport Canada is developing regulations to strengthen industry preparedness requirements.

This includes requiring ships to have firefighting and rescue services, and creating a specialist position for someone who could work with federal departments and others to manage an incident.

However, these changes could take another four years to be rolled out, the report highlights.

Concerns

Residents along the Vancouver Island coast have been removing debris from the sand for years, including vacuum cleaner parts, bicycle helmets, coolers and urinal mats, which appear to have come from containers transported by the Zim Kingston.

This is not the first time that concerns about Canada’s preparedness have been raised following the Zim Kingston emergency.

A 2022 report from a Commons standing committee made 29 recommendations, warning that the federal government, provinces and coastal communities were “operationally unprepared” to deal with marine cargo container spills.

In response to the report, the federal government said its Oceans Protection Plan includes $890.3 million to strengthen prevention, preparedness, response and recovery from maritime incidents.

Transport Canada did not immediately respond to questions about the safety board’s latest report.