Debris from cargo ship washes ashore on northwest coast of Vancouver Island

Refrigerators, a rubber boot, board games, plastic toys. That’s some of what has washed ashore on the northern tip of Vancouver Island after cargo from a container ship went overboard during a storm last week.

The MV Zim Kingston lost 109 containers, two containing hazardous materials last Friday when a so-called “bomb cyclone” caused heavy winds, pelting rain, and roiling seas. Soon after, some of the containers on board caught fire, smoldering for days. The firefight efforts continue Thursday, aimed at containers holding tires.

#CCGLive: The owner of the #ZimKingston has hired a contractor to remove debris from the beach as well as recover the containers. As of this update, no other containers have been found on shore. pic.twitter.com/BaSO6fQsr6

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 29, 2021

Five containers have been spotted at the very northern tip of Vancouver Island, more than 400 kilometres away from where they were lost near Victoria. The containers carrying hazardous materials were not among them, according to the Canadian Coast Guard.

Cargo in the containers include industrial and car parts, Christmas decorations, sofas, poker tables, clothing, toys, yoga mats, stand-up paddleboards and other everyday items.

A Facebook post shows the scene on the rugged coast at Cape Palmerston Beach, where a school took a field trip Wednesday.

The Coast Guard says the owner of the ship has hired a contractor to try to recover the bins loaded with cargo. he coast guard says trajectory modelling shows the containers that were still floating will continue to drift north.

#CCGLive: The Atlantic Raven continues to support operations at the #ZimKingston today with emergency tow and firefighting capacity if needed. Firefighters continue to work on the ship and on-shore air quality monitoring continues to show no impacts. pic.twitter.com/rrnhZ2cdrg

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 28, 2021

Air samples taken along the Greater Victoria waterfront show no negative effects from the ship, according to a statement from the coast guard.

“Once the initial response to the MV Zim Kingston is complete, the Transportation Safety Board may conduct an investigation into the incident, including why the ship lost containers during the storm and why some of the remaining containers caught on fire. Right now the highest priority continues to be putting the fires out and ensuring the remaining containers are secure before the ship is moved to port for unloading.”

The Transportation Safety Board says it is gathering information on the incident and assessing the scope of the investigation it may conduct.