Cargo ship incident off B.C. coast shows Canada unprepared for marine emergencies: TSB

The Transportation Safety Board is calling for improvements to Canada’s emergency preparedness rules.

This comes after the TSB released its report findings into a marine incident off the coast of Vancouver Island in 2021. In October of that year, the MV Zim Kingston lost 109 containers — two containing hazardous materials — into the ocean, when a so-called “bomb cyclone” caused heavy winds, pelting rain, and roiling seas.

Soon after, some of the containers on board caught fire, smouldering for days. The flames were eventually put out with the help of private firefighting vessels, which happened to be in the area.

“It is important not to mistake this luck for emergency preparedness. The next time we might not be as lucky,” said TSB Chair Kathy Fox.

TSB officials say there isn’t enough public firefighting capacity in Canadian waters, so vessels travelling on our coasts should be required to have pre-arranged plans for emergency response or marine salvage.

Despite the rough weather at the time of the incident, TSB officials say there were ships other than the Zim Kingston in the area.

“The Zim Kingston was encountering strong gale force wind and five-to-six metre waves. However, the weather conditions were not extreme for a vessel of that size and design,” TSB investigator Étienne Séguin-Bertrand said.

TSB investigators say the accident was caused by parametric rolling, a rare phenomenon where the waves, wind, and dimensions of the ship match up exactly to cause extreme instability.

The TSB’s investigation shows the ship rolled four times, losing about 11 per cent of its on-deck cargo.

Officials say about 1,500 tonnes of cargo went overboard. To this point, only about 48 tonnes have been recovered. That means 97 per cent of what went into the water is still there, or washed up on beaches.

The TSB’s second recommendation is improved training and resources for crews to manage parametric rolling.

According to the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, some of the lost cargo included highly toxic products, and even regular plastic and textiles can harm marine life.

“This may continue to be a problem for localized wildlife for years, if not decades, to come, as the containers rust out, as these products seep into the ocean,” explained Peter Ross, a senior scientist at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

They say we need to learn from this accident to develop better environmental protections as shipping grows along the west coast.

In a statement, Transport Canada officials say they are “carefully reviewing the investigation report.”