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Container ship ZIM Kingston caught fire off Victoria, BC, Canada (Image: Canadian Coast Guard)
ZIM Kingston container ship is currently facing a cargo fire after the ship lost about 40 containers in the high seas west of the US-Canada border. The ship is currently anchored in the Juan de Fuca Strait and the situation appears to be deteriorating.
Officials said the ship caught fire Saturday morning while moored, and the crew may need to be completely evacuated.
Sixteen crew members were taken to Ogden Point Pier by the coast guard on Saturday night, although five other crew members remained on board.
A spokesman for the Canadian Coast Guard said the fire broke out aboard the MV Zim Kingston around 11 a.m. Saturday, and involved two damaged containers carrying hazardous materials. The same ship lost about 35-40 containers of cargo in rough seas west of Vancouver Island on Thursday.
In an update Saturday night, the coast guard said that ten containers caught fire, including two carrying more than 52,000 kilograms of Potassium Amylxanthate, a hazardous material used in mining.
The update adds that a Hazmat rescue team is being mobilized from Vancouver, along with a coast guard and tugboat nearby also being mobilized to monitor the situation throughout the night.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported Friday that it observed multiple containers drifting some 43 miles west of the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait, after they crashed from a cargo ship. An update says about 35 containers have been spotted floating and are being tracked as they drift north.
