Oct. 23, 2021 at 7:53 pm
Updated Oct. 23, 2021 at 8:13 pm
By Dominic Gates
A large cargo ship piled high with containers anchored about 5 miles offshore from Victoria, British Columbia, caught fire Saturday and around 6 p.m., Canadian authorities advised the crew to abandon ship.
The Victoria-based lifeboat Cape Calvert and a couple of firefighting tugs were standing by near the stricken ship, the Zim Kingston, to assess the unfolding situation and monitor the safety of the crew.
The fire was caused by a combustible chemical powder spilling from containers that were damaged in a storm Friday as the ship, arriving from South Korea, approached the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. At that time, about 40 of the ship’s containers tumbled into the Pacific Ocean in rough seas.
According to a navigation warning sent to all ships in the area, a 1-mile exclusion zone was in effect around the container ship in the vicinity of Constance Bank “due to danger of falling containers.”
“The ship is on fire and expelling toxic gas. Two fallen containers are floating in the vicinity of the vessel,” the warning said.
... Canadian Coast Guard spokesperson Michelle Imbeau identified that as potassium amyl xanthate, a pale-yellow powder widely used in the mining industry. The ship’s manifest indicates that the containers held 57 tons of it.
According to safety information about this chemical, exposure to heat and moisture may cause decomposition “to release flammable, explosive and poisonous” carbon disulfide vapors.
Updated Oct. 23, 2021 at 8:13 pm
By Dominic Gates
A large cargo ship piled high with containers anchored about 5 miles offshore from Victoria, British Columbia, caught fire Saturday and around 6 p.m., Canadian authorities advised the crew to abandon ship.
The Victoria-based lifeboat Cape Calvert and a couple of firefighting tugs were standing by near the stricken ship, the Zim Kingston, to assess the unfolding situation and monitor the safety of the crew.
The fire was caused by a combustible chemical powder spilling from containers that were damaged in a storm Friday as the ship, arriving from South Korea, approached the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. At that time, about 40 of the ship’s containers tumbled into the Pacific Ocean in rough seas.
According to a navigation warning sent to all ships in the area, a 1-mile exclusion zone was in effect around the container ship in the vicinity of Constance Bank “due to danger of falling containers.”
“The ship is on fire and expelling toxic gas. Two fallen containers are floating in the vicinity of the vessel,” the warning said.
... Canadian Coast Guard spokesperson Michelle Imbeau identified that as potassium amyl xanthate, a pale-yellow powder widely used in the mining industry. The ship’s manifest indicates that the containers held 57 tons of it.
According to safety information about this chemical, exposure to heat and moisture may cause decomposition “to release flammable, explosive and poisonous” carbon disulfide vapors.
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