Crew members rescued as container ship burns off B.C. coast
A cargo ship was burning in the waters south of Victoria on Saturday, hours after the vessel dropped 40 shipping containers into the ocean west of Vancouver Island.
The coast guard was notified of the fire aboard the Zim Kingston around 11 a.m. Saturday.
Ten crew members were rescued from the vessel before 6 p.m. while six others were removed approximately an hour later, leaving five crew aboard overnight, according to a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria.
"The crew is mustered near their own lifeboats but the master hasn't made the call yet to abandon ship," said JRCC spokesperson Lt. Pamela Hogan.
No injuries had been reported Saturday evening.
The fire was sparked inside two containers of hazardous and readily combustible material that were damaged when the ship was tossed by rising seas Friday afternoon, according to the coast guard.
"Crew tried to put it out earlier today but they couldn’t do it themselves," Hogan said.
By late Saturday evening, 10 containers were burning, including two containers of potassium amyl xanthate, a chemical compound used in the mining industry, the coast guard said.
The Malta-flagged vessel was inbound for Vancouver when it listed to one side, dropping the containers into the ocean near the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The coast guard responds to the fire aboard the Zim Kingston off Victoria. (CTV News)
"The situation is evolving," coast guard spokesperson Michelle Imbeau said Saturday evening. "Coast guard has been standing by making sure life and limb are OK."
Two coast guard vessels and an auxiliary firefighting vessel have been monitoring the ship and its burning cargo. Flames and heavy smoke were visible from the Victoria shoreline throughout the day.
"When the crew has evacuated, when there are no people left on the vessel, then they'll do some oceanside firefighting," Hogan said.
Coast guard officials from both Canada and the United States issued warnings to mariners to keep clear of the Zim Kingston due to the danger of smoke and falling cargo.
A Transport Canada surveillance plane circled the smouldering vessel for much of the day Saturday.
The containers were adrift approximately 69 kilometres west of Vancouver Island just before 3 p.m. Friday, according to U.S. officials. (USCG)
The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center sent out a broadcast to mariners Friday afternoon warning that the lost shipping containers may be partially submerged and not easily visible from the ocean's surface.
"Mariners should exercise extreme caution" when transiting the region, the centre warned.
The Canadian Coast Guard also sent out a notice on NavWarn about the debris drifting approximately 69 kilometres west of Vancouver Island.
Eight of the lost containers had been located Friday evening, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard's 13th District in Seattle, Wash.
At least two of the lost containers contain hazardous materials that could spontaneously combust, the spokesperson said.
The District of Tofino warned ocean-goers to "take extreme caution" due to the drifting containers over the weekend, saying on its Twitter account that the coast guard was monitoring the containers off the west side of the island.
"Some of these containers contain hazardous materials," the district said. "If spotted, please avoid and do not approach."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'