Cargo ship on fire off Victoria, B.C., while combustible containers float in Strait of Juan de Fuca

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Mary Wilson]

Vancouver Island MPs want immediate federal oversight in container ship clean-up

More than 100 containers went overboard from the MV Zim Kingston near Victoria last week

Nov. 2, 2021 11:30 a.m.
MARC KITTERINGHAM

Vancouver Islanders are at the forefront of a group of NDP MPs demanding the new Minister for Fisheries, Oceans take immediate action to address the cargo spilled from the MV Zim Kingston off the Vancouver Island coast.

... the MV Zim Kingston owner has hired a salvage firm, the “firm contracted had little understanding of the geography of the area, nor any experience of the local realities which affect the coordination of shoreline cleanup, which has led to unacceptable delays in mobilising ground crews to remediate the damage being done by the grounded containers.”

“We have a very narrow window to take effective action to contain the items which are already onshore.

... “The spill… will no doubt have extreme implications on our local marine life and the health of the ocean,” said Barron. “We are urging the federal government to do all they can to prevent even more damage being done to our coast and ocean.

https://www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com/news/vancouver-island-mps-want-immediate-federal-oversight-in-container-ship-clean-up/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Mary Wilson]

SAFETY DATA SHEET
Thiox – Thiourea Dioxide

https://prochemicalanddye.net/downloads/dl/file/id/61/product/0/thiox_sds.pdf

[Mary Wilson]

Equipment Failure- MV ZIM Kingston

Most Recent Update
October 26 - 5:30 pm

... The two chemicals of concern that were on the M/V Zim Kingston are potassium amyl xanthate and thiourea dioxide. These chemicals are identified as being non-bioaccumulating agents. This means that if there is human contact the chemicals would not accumulate in the body faster than they are excreted; therefore, the risk of poisoning or toxicity is very low.

No fisheries closures are currently in place, based on the assessment by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The Environmental Unit (EU) will continue to assess the toxicological risk posed by the container contents. The EU will monitor wildlife that may be near the vessel and floating containers, as well as evaluate any ecological sensitivities for potentially impacted shoreline habitats. ...

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/spills-environmental-emergencies/spill-incidents/equipment-failure-mv-zim

[Mary Wilson]

Transport Canada @Transport_gc

We have issued a #NOTAM restricting all aircraft, including #drones, from flying within 1 NM or below 2000 ft of the #ZIMKINGSTON vessel fire in #BC until October 28 at 11h00 PDT
4:21 PM · Oct 26, 2021

https://twitter.com/Transport_gc/sta...09641135677448

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Emily]

Last update I can find (There's a video at the link):

https://twitter.com/CoastGuardCAN/status/1452754039893024772

Canadian Coast Guard
@CoastGuardCAN

#CCGLive - A Coast Guard overflight of the #ZimKingston at 11:30 today shows smoldering but no visible flames in the containers. However, firefighters may find some active fire in the containers once they are able to board the ship.


4:48 PM · Oct 25, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

[Mary Wilson]

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET

POTASSIUM AMYL XANTHATE, SOLID

https://reviewboard.ca/upload/project_document/EA0809-004_MSDS_for_Potassium_Amyl_Xanthate.PDF

[Mary Wilson]

Emergency zone doubled as crews continue to battle fire on cargo ship off of Victoria coast

Oct. 24, 2021 10:20 a.m.
BAILEY MORETON

Efforts to control a fire onboard the MV Zim Kingston continue Sunday morning as the Canadian Coast Guard doubled the emergency zone around the vessel overnight.

A Coast Guard Vessel was cooling the vessel by spraying water on its hull early Sunday morning after officials had increased the emergency zone around the ship to two nautical miles. Emergency crews sprung into action after flames could be seen coming from the vessel as it was passing off the Greater Victoria coast.

“Due to the nature of chemicals onboard the container ship, applying water directly to the fire is not an option,” the Canadian Coast Guard said in a Facebook post. As of Sunday morning, there is no threat to the public, according to a Coast Guard spokesperson.

... Five crew members remained on board to fight the fire on the ship. According to the Coast Guard spokesperson, the Capitan of the Zim Kingston was trying to have their full crew return as of Sunday morning.

https://www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com/news/emergency-zone-doubled-as-crews-continue-to-battle-fire-on-cargo-ship-off-of-victoria-coast/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Emily]

This is gCaptain, an industry insider. It's a very bad situation, not only this fire but with all the storms hitting the West Coast, there are lots of container ships refusing to go out to sea because of the port backups. They are afraid to lose their place in line.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1yoKMWNqyknJQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1452071976374317062%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgcaptain.com%2Fzim-kingston-on-fire-off-victoria-bc-after-losing-containers-in-heavy-seas%2F

https://gcaptain.com/zim-kingston-on-fire-off-victoria-bc-after-losing-containers-in-heavy-seas/

[Emily]

That's horrible - such a beautiful area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKhlP3isL4I

Karl Johanson
653 subscribers

The container ship Zim Kingston was traveling from Busan, South Korea to Vancouver, BC, Canada. The ship lost approximately 40 containers in rough seas off the coast of Vancouver Island, BC. While traveling through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, some of the shipping containers caught fire. The ship is anchored in these photos and videos. The videos photos are taken from the Victoria waterfront, near Beacon Hill Park and Clover Point, using a Canon EOS 70D.

Comment



A K
1 hour ago

The hazardous ones are said to be a load of potassium amylxanthan (sp?). It’s very combustible especially when in contact with moisture. Could be bad if it rains on that stuff overnight what’s worse is the ship has 5 remaining on board ignoring the coast guard. The other ships that are nearby are refusing to leave the bay because they’re afraid of the coming gail force winds approaching. Terrible situation

[Mary Wilson]

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.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/cargo-ship-on-fire-off-victoria-b-c-while-combustible-containers-float-in-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/