Burning container ship releases toxic gas off the coast of Canada

Since the Canadian Coast Guard released toxic gas on Saturday off the Pacific coast of the country, 16 people have been evacuated from the burning container ship to safer areas, but those on land pose no danger, officials said Sunday.

Also read: Containers of dangerous goods crossed towards Vancouver

“Active firefighting is underway in Jim Kingston, but we are seeing a reduction in fires and smoke,” the Canadian Coast Guard said on Twitter.

The ship’s owner, Cypriot company Danos, said in a statement to AFP that “the fire appears to be under control” and that the claim adjusters would allow crews to “make sure the conditions are met”. ”.

Although there is no danger on land such as an oil spill or a toxic tide, strong winds will blow over the area “Sunday evening” and crews will monitor the quality of the sea. From the water and the coast, ”the Canadian Coast Guard observed.

Winds of up to 70km / h are expected in the Victoria area of ​​British Columbia on Sunday evening, from which container ship anchors. Exactly, the Cypriot ship was located in the Juan de Fuca Strait, which marks the maritime border between Canada and the United States, its owner explained.

He was in the waters off the border on Friday evening “while waiting to access Vancouver harbor, the extreme weather event caused the ship to have a substantial inventory, which resulted in the containers being overboard”, the Cypriot shipwreck summary.

Two damaged containers caught fire on Saturday following the incident, the company continued in Danos, while the Canadian Coast Guard indicated “10 containers caught fire” on Sunday morning.

According to the Coast Guard, the decision to evacuate was made by the ship’s captain and 16 people were evacuated. The container ship captain “and key staff are on board to oversee the fight against fire,” Danos said.

“Due to the nature of the chemicals in the container, pouring water directly into the fire is not an option,” the Canadian Coast Guard said on Twitter.

A tug, Seaspan Raven, was found at the scene of the blaze, but Canadian authorities found it “cooled by spraying with Jim Kingston’s cold water” overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

According to Public Television, Radio-Canada, 40 containers were lost in the Pacific Ocean and the Canadian Coast Guard and their American counterparts are working together to find them.

“Respondents are mobilizing to fight the fire and retrieve the containers separated from the ship on Friday,” said the Coast Guard, which set up a two-nautical-mile “emergency zone” that prohibits navigation around the ship.