Remember The Cargo Ship That Lost 40 Containers?

Foxxee · ‎10-03-2014

October 24, 2021

Some containers on board caught fire.

Dozens of shipping containers have fallen from a ship into Canadian waters, and the cargo ship carrying them has caught ablaze amid the damage caused by a 'bomb cyclone'.

Up to 40 shipping containers fell into the Pacific off Vancouver early on Friday morning, when the vessel Zim Kingston hit rough waters 43 miles west of the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Then on Saturday morning, a fire broke out in the ship's cargo area, believed to be caused by damage to the remaining shipping containers, the US Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard is now tracking 35 containers adrift at sea, and says that two of them are confirmed to contain hazardous flammable material.

Dozens of shipping containers have fallen from a ship into Canadian waters during a 'bomb cyclone', and the cargo ship carrying them has caught ablaze amid the damage

Two of the containers have been identified as carrying spontaneous combustibles,' Petty Officer 3rd Class Diolanda Caballero told the Vancouver Sun.

'They are currently drifting north but we can't predict which way they will go because of the heavy weather. The bomb cyclone is around that area,' she said.

Photos showed smoke billowing and flames leaping from the side of the ship.

Radio communications indicate that the crew, including the captain, has been advised to abandon ship by Canadian authorities.

'The advice is that you abandon, completely abandon, including all crew and captain,' a Canadian Coast Guard official was heard broadcasting to the ship.

Containers which fell overboard from the ship Zim Kingston are seen floating west of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, off the west coast of British Columbia.

Containers which fell overboard from the ship Zim Kingston are seen floating west of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, off the west coast of British Columbia

However, a response from the ship indicated that the crew wanted to continue to battle the fire, and it was not immediately clear whether the crew abandoned ship.

Canadian Coast Guard advised that due to the nature of the combustibles on board the vessel, tugs deployed to fight the fire are not to use water on the blaze.

The Zim Kingston is a Maltese-flagged containership built in 2008, with capacity for 4,253 twenty-foot containers.

It had departed from Busan, South Korea bound for North America.

Radio communications indicate that the crew, including the captain, has been advised to abandon ship by Canadian authorities

However, a response from the ship indicated that the crew wanted to continue to battle the fire, and it was not immediately clear whether the crew abandoned ship

The ship is now anchored in Constance Bank, in the Straits of Juan de Fuca off Victoria.

The containers on the ship were lost in rough seas due to a a strong low pressure system that was at hurricane force at times with seas up to 30 feet.

A storm is considered a bomb cyclone when its minimum air pressure drops 24 millibars or more within 24 hours, known as bombogenesis.

Between 2008 and 2016, an average of 568 containers were lost per year worldwide, according to a study commissioned by The World Shipping Council.

From DailyMail.com

Update: October 26, 2021

Firefighters put the fire out.

Crews keep surrounding containers and the hull of the MV Zim Kingston cool while fires continue to smoulder aboard the ship. (Canadian Coast Guard/Twitter)

Firefighters and several crew members boarded the stricken container ship MV Zim Kingston Monday night after a storm had kept crews at bay.

An environmental unit has been set up to monitor any ecological effects and to recommend strategies for preventing and mitigating harm.

“Based on the assessment so far, there aren’t any identified risks to marine species. There aren’t any fisheries closures recommended at this time,” Mariah McCooey, the coast guard’s deputy federal incident commander, said at a briefing Monday.

From VicNews.com

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

😂😂😂 I'm sorry but at this point just bring on the four horsemen and let's go. I keep waiting for Allan Funt or SNL to pop in at some point and wake us all up but it ain't happening. 😕

Leeny · ‎06-24-2011

@Foxxee

Thank You for posting this very informative news regarding the Cargo ships.

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

Fortunately, I've been into used/refurbished lately on the bay so I'm not waiting for a thing MIC.

Vivian · ‎03-11-2010

This infuriates me. If it weren't for the greed that led to all this cheaper outsourcing, this stuff would be made here. Perhaps I shouldn't use the word cheaper. How much will it cost to clean up the mess created by these ships? When did quantity usurp quality? How much CCC as my neighbor calls it (Cheap Chi.....Cr@p) do we need or even accept? If you watch Antiques Road Show, just take a look at the many objects brought in. They were made in all our towns and cities, but that's history. We've made a big mistake, in my not-so-humble opinion.

godi · ‎03-09-2010

The way it's going now a days I'm sure one of my orders is on that boat. Either on fire or sinking to the bottom of the ocean. 😳

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

I'm guessing this is what sailors call an "ill-fated cruise". The captain is probably soon to be unemployed, if he can find a ride home.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

RainyDayGal · ‎03-09-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
I'm guessing this is what sailors call an "ill-fated cruise". The captain is probably soon to be unemployed, if he can find a ride home.

I don't know that he could have done much, the weather was INSANE. Some places with 70 mph winds and big hurkin' waves. It really was pretty crazy.