The Transportation Safety Board has deployed a team of investigators to the Zim Kingston ship that dropped 109 containers in heavy seas off the west coast of Vancouver Island almost two weeks ago and caught fire.
The TSB said Wednesday it was deploying a team to Victoria to gather information and assess the fire. The board is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation disasters with the aim of improving safety. It does not assign blame or determine civil or criminal liability.
The ship, anchored at Constance Bank, where it’s visible from the Dallas Road waterfront, had been carrying nearly 2,000 containers on its way to the Port of Vancouver. Of those, close to half were on the ship’s upper deck.
Zim Kingston lost its containers on Oct. 22. A day later, a fire broke out on the ship. That fire was eventually brought under control, with firefighters tackling overnight flare-ups.
The more than 100 containers were carrying everything from Christmas decorations to sofas, poker tables, metal car parts, clothing, toys, yoga mats, stand-up paddleboards and industrial parts. Some came ashore at Cape Scott, along with debris.
Some containers are believed to have sunk. At least two containers that slid off the ship were carrying hazardous materials.
The coast guard had said it would deploy tracking buoys and work with the vessel’s owner, Greece-based Danaos Shipping, to locate and recover the containers.
— With files from Carla Wilson
