Fire on container ship near Victoria stabilized, crews unable to board due to weather, says coast guard

It’s still not known what caused a fire aboard a container ship about eight kilometres off the coast of Victoria.

On Sunday, the Canadian Coast Guard confirmed the fire had been “stabilized.” In a tweet, the agency confirmed that, if the weather allows, hazardous materials firefighters would “board the ship to fight any remaining fires and ensure the fire is out” on Monday.

However, those efforts were hindered by conditions Monday morning.

“The containers continue to smolder and boundary cooling – spraying water on the hull and on containers near the fire – continues. There are currently no impacts to human health for residents of Greater Victoria but Incident Command continues to monitor the situation,” the coast guard wrote on Twitter

The containers continue to smolder and boundary cooling – spraying water on the hull and on containers near the fire – continues. There are currently no impacts to human health for residents of Greater Victoria but Incident Command continues to monitor the situation.

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 25, 2021

An unknown number of containers, some with hazardous materials inside, caught fire aboard the Zim Kingston on Saturday.

That came after about 40 containers fell overboard in choppy waters on Friday.

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Coast Guard spokesperson J. J. Brickett says flames initially spread to 10 containers but there was just a smouldering pile on Sunday after the fire was mostly brought under control.

He says provincial and federal officials are working with all First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island while investigating the fire aboard the Zim Kingston, which is registered in Greece.

Brickett says the location of some of the containers that landed in the ocean is being monitored by helicopter, but efforts to read the labels to try to determine what’s inside them have not been fruitful.

Smoke coming from the vessel is being tracked from air quality monitoring stations around the Greater Victoria area and local health authorities are being provided with those results. pic.twitter.com/wmKYm693gt

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 24, 2021

The Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre in Victoria had previously said 16 crew members were safely taken off the ship. Five other people, including the captain, remained on board at their own behest.

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Crews aboard emergency vessels and tugs remained near the ship overnight to monitor the situation, and to ensure “the five crew members on the ship are safe.”

The coast guard has said the blaze aboard the ship poses a significant risk to mariners but not people on shore.

Emergency tow vessels, tugs and CCG monitor the ship overnight to ensure the five crew members on the ship are safe, and that the ship remains secured. Further updates will be provided tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ouRYgt0J12

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 24, 2021

Two of the burning containers on the deck held 52,000 kilograms of a hazardous material identified as potassium amyl xanthate, the agency previously said.

It noted the ship itself was not on fire, but confirmed in a tweet that an emergency zone had been doubled to two nautical miles around the Zim Kingston.