Canadian Coast Guard evacuate crew members from container ship off B.C. coast due to fire
CBC
The Canadian Coast Guard and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in B.C. have evacuated crew members from a vessel off Victoria that lost 40 of its shipping containers Friday, after a fire on board Saturday.
The coast guard said it received a report at around 11 a.m. PT of a fire on two damaged containers that were still on the ship Zim Kingston, which was bound for Vancouver. Six containers are ablaze in total, the coast guard said, with the fire still burning as of 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
According to a spokesperson from JRCC, 16 crew members were brought to Ogden Point Pier in Victoria. Five crew members remained on board as of Saturday night.
"An emergency zone has been established at Constance Bank within one mile of the anchored container ship Zim Kingston..." a notice on the Coast Guard's Navigational Warnings website said Saturday evening. "The ship is on fire and expelling toxic gas." It also warned that two fallen containers were floating nearby.
The Coast Guard said Zim Kingston is carrying more than 52,000 kg of xanthates, which includes potassium amylxanthate, housed in two of the containers that are on fire aboard the ship.
The compound is classified by the U.S. government as "spontaneously combustible". Potassium amylxanthate is also toxic to marine life.
In a tweet, the United States Coast Guard said 40 containers fell overboard off the Zim Kingston Friday when it came across rough seas 70 kilometres west of the Juan de Fuca Strait, which separates Washington state and Vancouver Island.
"The Canadian Coast Guard hasn't received any reports of any injuries," Canadian Coast Guard communications advisor Michelle Imbeau told CBC News.
It is unclear what caused the fire, she said, but a lifeboat from the coast guard's Victoria station is near the Zim Kingston to act as a safety vessel.
The coast guard is conducting an assessment to determine if there are pollution threats and hazards from the containers, Imbeau said.
Victoria Coun. Stephen Andrew tweeted that the fire chief told him the risk to public health from the fire is "extremely low.
"Should the situation deteriorate, the city is prepared to initiate public alert messaging."
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