Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Contractor to try to recover overboard containers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Oct, 2021 09:31 AM
  • Contractor to try to recover overboard containers

VANCOUVER - The Canadian Coast Guard says the owner of a ship that lost 109 containers overboard in stormy weather last week has hired a contractor to try to recover the bins loaded with cargo.

It says in a statement that a salvage team was using thermal cameras to find remaining hot spots on the MV Zim Kingston after some of the containers caught fire last weekend. Active firefighting operations continued Thursday in containers that hold tires, it said.

Five containers have been spotted at the very northern tip of Vancouver Island, more than 400 kilometres away, but two containers carrying hazardous materials were not among them. The coast guard says trajectory modelling shows the containers that were still floating will continue to drift north.

Cargo in the containers include industrial and car parts, Christmas decorations, sofas, poker tables, clothing, toys, yoga mats, stand-up paddle boards and other everyday items.

The coast guard said air samples taken along the Greater Victoria waterfront show no negative effects from the ship.

"Once the initial response to the MV Zim Kingston is complete, the Transportation Safety Board may conduct an investigation into the incident, including why the ship lost containers during the storm and why some of the remaining containers caught on fire. Right now the highest priority continues to be putting the fires out and ensuring the remaining containers are secure before the ship is moved to port for unloading."

The Transportation Safety Board says it is gathering information on the incident and assessing the scope of the investigation it may conduct.

Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for Danaos, which manages the ship, said the master of the vessel ordered the evacuation of 16 members while he and other key personnel remained on board to try and put out a fire among some of the containers. Danaos commissioned a team of marine firefighters to ensure conditions were appropriate for the safe return of the vessel’s crew, he said.

Transport Canada said in a written statement that after the ship reported losing some containers in heavy seas on Friday, the master requested an anchorage from the Pacific Pilotage Authority and was allocated one at Constance Bank, about 7.5 kilometres (four nautical miles) south of Victoria.

The agency said that anchoring is a common right in Canada and that a ship is generally free to anchor temporarily and for a reasonable time in any location deemed appropriate.

Peter Lahay, national spokesman for the International Transport Workers Federation, said about five crew members stayed on board the ship to hose down the containers while the rest of the crew were taken to a hotel in Victoria before returning on Tuesday.

MORE National ARTICLES

696 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

696 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are 4,888 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 192,189 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 370 individuals are in hospital and 139 are in intensive care. 

696 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

Heat-wave death risk grows for seniors in Canada

Heat-wave death risk grows for seniors in Canada
That heat wave lasted several weeks and saw the town of Lytton, B.C., destroyed by a fire a day after it recorded a temperature of 49.6 C, the highest temperature ever seen in Canada.

Heat-wave death risk grows for seniors in Canada

Bill introduced to overhaul B.C. forestry

Bill introduced to overhaul B.C. forestry
Katrine Conroy told the legislature the proposed changes align forestry legislation with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act passed in late 2019 and introduce "new tools to establish resilient forests."

Bill introduced to overhaul B.C. forestry

Vancouver police told to change handcuff policy

Vancouver police told to change handcuff policy
The police board says it launched a review of the department's protocols when Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed after trying to open an account at the Bank of Montreal using their government-issued status cards.

Vancouver police told to change handcuff policy

VPD investigates replica pipe bombs found at safe injection site

VPD investigates replica pipe bombs found at safe injection site
On October 16 just before 3 p.m., cleaning staff at the safe injection site near Pender and Abbott streets found what are now known as two replica pipe bombs inside the toilets. Staff believed they were imitation bombs and turned them over to police. VPD’s Emergency Response Team Bomb Technician attended and safely destroyed the device. 

VPD investigates replica pipe bombs found at safe injection site

Proactive policing leads to seizure of drugs, cash and a vehicle: Surrey RCMP

Proactive policing leads to seizure of drugs, cash and a vehicle: Surrey RCMP
Police seized 151 oxycodone pills, 51 morphine pill, and 21 grams of cocaine, which was packaged for street level sale. In addition to the illegal drugs, officers seized $4685 in cash along with the vehicle being used to facilitate the offences.

Proactive policing leads to seizure of drugs, cash and a vehicle: Surrey RCMP