ZIM Kingston Cargo Fire Stabilized and Ship Held Overnight, Canadian Coast Guard Says
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Photo from Saturday, October 23, 2021.
mage courtesy Canadian Coast Guard
Update: The Canadian Coast Guard reports that the ZIM Kingston remained stable overnight as containers continue to smolder and cooling of the hull continues. A salvage crew from Resolve Marine are on scene but, due to the current weather, have been unable to board the ship.
“There are currently no impacts to human health for residents of Greater Victoria but Incident Command continues to monitor the situation,” the Coast Guard reported on Twitter.
The fire on board the containership ZIM Kingston is reported to be stabilized and the ship secured, the Canadian Coast Guard said Sunday afternoon. The ship remains at anchor at Constance Bank off of Victoria, British Columbia.
The anchor handling tugs Maersk Tender, Maersk Trader, and offshore tug Atlantic Raven, have remained on scene with the Canadian monitoring the ship overnight as gale force winds were forecasted for the area.
Five crew members remain on board the ship. Photos and video from Sunday show the fire has been mostly contained a single bay of containers in the forward part of the vessel.
The CCGS Cape Calvert and CCGS Cape Naden evacuated 16 crew members from the vessel on Saturday. No injuries to crew members have been reported.
The fire started Saturday morning as the ship was at anchor about 5 miles off of Victoria after earlier losing approximately 40 containers overboard in heavy seas west of the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Sector Puget Sound alerted to the incident at 12:49 a.m. Friday from Prince Rupert Marine Communication and Traffic Services reporting that ZIM Kingston reported losing approximately 40 containers overboard when the vessel heeled 35 degrees in heavy swells 38 miles west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The fire reportedly started in two containers of hazardous materials and spread to at least 10 containers on deck, although it appears more have been impacted. The Canadian Coast Guard reported Sunday that firefighting has consisted spraying water to cool the ship’s hull since the “nature of chemicals onboard” prevented dousing the fire directly. Reporting has indicated that two of the containers burning contained hazardous materials identified as potassium amylxanthate.