Cleanup work on northern Vancouver Island beaches littered with debris from broken containers is ramping up as the private group hired to do the job turns to experienced local non-profits for help.
The federal Transportation Safety Board announced Wednesday that a team is investigating the loss of 109 containers from the Malta-flagged Zim Kingston off the west coast of Vancouver Island on Oct. 22, while en route to Vancouver from South Korea. A stubborn onboard fire later broke out after the ship anchored near Victoria.
Only four containers have been found and large amounts of debris has washed up on north Island beaches.
Karen Wristen, executive director of the Living Oceans Society, which has devoted a decade to pulling debris off north Island beaches, said the Amix Group hired by ship manager Danaos Shipping of Greece called Wednesday to seek volunteers.
“They’ve asked for 10 to 15 people with training in first aid, helicopter lifting and radios to join the crew,” said Wristen, whose society is part of a B.C. marine debris working group, which has dozens of qualified people who can be called out on short notice.
It was not immediately clear where the marine debris cleanup crews will be sent, she said, but they are expected to be on beaches this weekend during a hoped-for break in poor weather.
While she has received dozens of offers of help from the public in recent days, Wristen said it’s not safe for untrained people on the beaches. Two of the missing containers held hazardous materials and the shoreline itself can be dangerous because strong waves could wash people into the water in a heartbeat, she said.
While members of the working group will volunteer their time, expenses will be covered, she said.
Wristen said that although the Canadian Coast Guard responded to her promptly after debris started showing up on the shore, she had to wait days to hear from the private contractors.
The incident shows “the absolute absence of any Canadian plan for deploying a workforce for spills of this nature,” she said, adding it also highlights the need for larger vessels to stand by on B.C.’s west coast in case of such emergencies.
It was only by luck that two large Maersk vessels happened to be at Ogden Point when the Zim Kingston fire broke out. Those ships had recently returned from a plastic-garbage collecting expedition in the north Pacific. One sprayed water on the exterior of the vessel to keep its hull cool after fire broke out on board.
Wristen questioned why containers with hazardous substances were on an open container ship, and how they were secured to the vessel. “They should have been [on] a different type of vessel altogether.”
It’s not yet known if the Transportation Safety Board investigation will look solely at the fire or will delve into why the ship waited off the Island in stormy seas even as heavier weather was on its way.
A decision on how to classify the incident — which determines the scope of an investigation — has not yet been reached, board spokesman Chris Krepski said Wednesday. There are six classes of incident, ranging from minor to more serious cases.
According to criteria set out in the board’s classification systems, it appears the Zim Kingston case may be deemed a class three or higher. A class-three investigation involves a small team, is generally finished within 450 days and can include recommendations.
The Canadian Coast Guard and First Nations members have found debris in additional areas of northern Vancouver Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Kiri Westnedge said Wednesday.
Bad weather has prevented some crews from reaching beaches, but cleanup work continues in more accessible areas, she said.
Crews went to Raft Beach on Tuesday and removed 70 per cent of the contents of one of the containers that reached the shore.
The public is being reminded not to touch any containers because they could contain hazardous substances.
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