Although the situation does not appear to present risks on land, such as a spill or a toxic tide, “strong gusts of wind are expected in the region.”
The Canadian coast guard announced on Sunday that it had found “a reduction” in the flames in a Cypriot cargo ship whose fire forced the evacuation of 16 crew members and since Saturday generated toxic gas off the coast of Canada and the United States in the Pacific.
“An active fight against the fire is underway at the Zim Kingston, but we note a reduction in fire and smoke,” the agency said on Twitter.
The shipowner of the ship, the Cypriot company Danaos, even told AFP that the “fire appears to be controlled”, allowing accident experts “to get on board to make sure that the conditions are in place to allow the crew to return aboard.” .
Although the situation does not appear to present risks on land, such as a spill or a toxic tide, “strong gusts of wind are expected in the region” on Sunday night and “the teams will monitor the quality of the air both in the water and at leave the coast, ”noted the Canadian Coast Guard.
Winds of 70 km / h are expected Sunday night in the Victoria region of British Columbia, near where the freighter is anchored. The vessel is in the Juan de Fuca Strait that marks the maritime border between Canada and the United States, according to the owner.
It was in these bordering waters on Friday night “while waiting to be able to access the port of Vancouver, when an extreme weather event caused the ship to list, which led to the fall over the side of containers”, summed up the Cypriot shipowner.
After the incident, two damaged containers caught fire on Saturday, according to the Danaos society, while the Canadian Coast Guard indicated Sunday morning that “a fire broke out in 10 containers.”
The ship’s captain then made the decision to evacuate and 16 people were rescued, according to the Coast Guard. The captain of the freighter “and key personnel stayed on board to supervise the fight against the fire,” Danaos said.
“Due to the nature of the chemicals on board the cargo ship, applying water directly to the fire is not an option,” the Canadian Coast Guard noted on Twitter.
However, a tugboat deployed at the scene of the fire, the Seaspan Raven, “cooled the hull of the Zim Kingston by spraying it with cold water” from Saturday to Sunday night, Canadian authorities said.
According to public television Radio-Canada, 40 containers were lost in the Pacific Ocean and the Canadian Coast Guard and their US counterparts are working together to find them.
The coast guard erected a two-nautical-mile “no-go” “emergency zone” around the ship.
The freighter was carrying more than 52 tons of chemicals according to Radio-Canada, which cites the coast guard. (I)
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