ZIM Kingston, which suffered a fire incident and lost 109 containers off the Canadian Coast on 22 October, is stable and an initial transit plan has been submitted to the authorities for review, according to the Greek ship owner, Danaos Shipping.
The fire on board the vessel has been extinguished from 29 October, according to a company’s statement.
“Our inspectors boarded the Zim Kingston on Friday (29 October) in order to do a marine safety compliance inspection. We are working with our federal, Indigenous, provincial, municipal & industry partners to ensure the safety & security of the marine environment in British Columbia, Canada,” said Transport Canada, a federal institution responsible for transportation policies and programs.
The remaining containers on the vessel are safe and will be unloaded once a port of call has been identified, according to Danaos.
Meanwhile, the specialized marine contractors retained by the Greek company have been removing containers and debris from shores, while the cleanup process consists of helicopter crews airlifting larger pieces, while teams on foot comb the beaches for small debris.
#CCGLive: Shoreline cleanup continues! Over the weekend, crews hired by the #ZimKingston owner removed 71 refrigerators, 81 bags of Styrofoam and 19 bags of garbage from Cape Palmerston beach. 11 helicopter bag were flown off too. pic.twitter.com/EVnJfMsA3x
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) November 2, 2021
“Crews will begin removing debris from Guise Bay at Cape Scott, as weather allows,” said the Canadian Coast Guard in a Twitter post on 2 November.
Additionally, the Incident Command Post is continuing the search for more containers, while the initial four containers will soon be removed from the beach via helicopter.
“If members of the public encounter a container, they should avoid opening it and call 1-800-889-8852 to report the location,” Danaos said in its announcement.
The company noted it has been working closely with local authorities, committed to following all actions necessary to mitigate the consequences of the incident.
