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Updated October 25th, 2021 at 21:06 IST

Canadian Coast Guard says burning container ship stabilised; 'It's a really good sign':

When we are looking at the imagery, we can’t see any scorching or charring of those adjacent containers. That’s a really good sign,” CCG commander said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Canada
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Blazes spewing toxic gas from a Canadian container ship Zim Kingston, anchored off the city of Victoria in British Columbia, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been “stabilized and the ship remains secured.” the Canadian Coast Guard said in an update on Sunday.  “An emergency zone has been set up around the ship (one nautical mile) as firefighting progresses,” the guards informed, adding that amid the hazardous materials, firefighters will board the ship to fight any remaining fires and ensure the fire is out by tomorrow. 

The managing firm for the container ship, Danaos Shipping, confirmed in a release that the blazes on Zim Kingston were put out later Sunday, citing the Canadian Coast Guard Commander JJ Brickett. Although some parts of the vessels were still smoldering, it continued.

“What they were attempting to do is let the fire burn down. In other words, the container consumes itself with the fuel while keeping everything else around it cool so they wouldn’t ignite,” Brickett, meanwhile told a news conference.

“When we are looking at the imagery, we can’t see any scorching or charring of those adjacent containers. That’s a really good sign,” furthermore he added.

So far, among the total 21 crew members, as many as 16 have been safely evacuated. The remaining five crew members on the ship “are safe,” the Canadian coast guard said, adding that the emergency tow vessels, tugs, and CCG  monitor would be watching the vessel overnight. The vessel has been docked across the Canadian and the United States maritime border, as per the marine tracking site MarineTraffic. The vessel was bound for Vancouver when it was engulfed in a massive fire at about 11 pm local time on Saturday (06:00 GMT on Sunday), according to Canadian news station CBC. 

[Credit: Twitter/@CoastGuardCAN]

'Storm' could hamper fire fighting efforts 

The coastguard issued a warning on Sunday for the cargo vessels to stay at least 2 nautical miles away from the impacted ship whilst sailing. The transit of commercial vessels to the ports of Vancouver and Seattle ports, however, was allowed as of Sunday, October 24. While the fire was largely contained onboard the vessel, the Canadian coast guard announced that the strong West Coast storms are expected to hit late Monday on the Canadian coast, which could hamper the fire fighting crew operation. “Depending on weather tomorrow (Monday), hazardous materials firefighters will board the ship to fight any remaining fires and ensure the fire is out,” the Canadian CCG stated on Twitter.

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Published October 25th, 2021 at 21:06 IST

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