On Saturday, October 23, a container fire that broke out Saturday on a cargo ship carrying mining chemicals off British Columbia is smoldering and appears to be under control, Canadian Coast Guard officials said on Sunday.
Sixteen crew members were evacuated from the MV Zim Kingston on Saturday, while five remained on board to fight the fire.
The ship is anchored several kilometers off the southern coast of Vancouver Island. Residents of the island are not in danger, officials said, and transit of commercial vessels to the ports of Vancouver and Seattle ports is unimpeded.
Canadian Coast Guard Commander JJ Brickett said the company has indicated that the fire has burned itself out. Tug boats had sprayed water around the area of the fire to keep it from spreading, and a helicopter flyover on Sunday gathered evidence that this has worked.
"We can't see any scorching or charring of those adjacent containers, that's a really good sign," Brickett said. "The fire is smoldering as you would expect, and we're continuing to cool on either side."
The coast guard is telling all vessels to stay at least two nautical miles away, and the Transport Ministry has restricted all aircraft, including drones, from flying within two nautical miles or below 2,000 feet over the ship.
Earlier on Sunday Danaos Shipping Co, the company that manages the container ship, said in a statement that no injuries had been reported.
The fire "appears to have been contained," and a salvage and fire extinguishing agency was brought in to ensure the safe return of the vessel's crew, Danaos said.
Canada's coast guard said it has been working with its U.S. counterpart to track 40 containers that had fallen overboard when Zim Kingston encountered bad weather on Friday, saying they posed a significant risk to mariners.
The coast guard is still tracking these containers, which are to be recovered by the salvage company hired by the ship's owners. At the moment none of them seem to be drifting toward shore.