‘Bomb cyclone’ knocks dozens of containers into Pacific Ocean as cargo ship catches fire

Rough seas have knocked about 40 shipping containers off a cargo ship and into the sea with a fire then breaking out on board, forcing the evacuation of the crew.

Rough seas have knocked around 40 shipping containers off a cargo ship into Canadian waters, with a fire then breaking out on board forcing the evacuation of the crew.

The US Coast Guard said the vessel Zim Kingston initially lost the containers at around midnight on Friday off the coast of Vancouver when it hit rough waters, around 70km west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance.

Then on Saturday morning, a fire broke out in the ship’s cargo area.

The fire is believed to have been caused by damage to the remaining containers.

All fires produce toxic substances. Incident Command has detailed information on the chemicals that were on fire and are now smoldering in the containers onboard the #ZimKingston. pic.twitter.com/jtjhlJ1zAa

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 24, 2021

Sixteen crew members were evacuated by the Canadian Coast Guard while five remained on board to fight the fire, which continued to smoulder overnight as a tug sprayed the hull with cold water.

“Due to the nature of chemicals on-board the container ship, applying water directly to the fire is not an option,” the Canadian Coast Guard said on Twitter.

The ship is now anchored in Constance Bank, in the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

The Canadian Coast Guard said the vessel was carrying mining chemicals, and that two of the 10 burning containers held 52,000kg of a hazardous material identified as potassium amylxanthate.

An emergency zone around the ship has been increased from one to two nautical miles.

The Zim Kingston anchored near Victoria, British Columbia. Picture: @USCGPacificNW/Twitter

The vessel lost around 40 containers in rough seas on Friday night. Picture: @USCGPacificNW/Twitter

A fire then broke out in 10 containers in the cargo area. Picture: @CoastGuardCAN/Twitter

At least two of the containers now adrift at sea, currently being tracked by US and Canadian authorities, are confirmed to contain hazardous flammable material.

“Two of the containers have been identified as carrying spontaneous combustibles,” Petty Officer 3rd Class Diolanda Caballero told the Vancouver Sun. “They are currently drifting north but we can’t predict which way they will go because of the heavy weather. The bomb cyclone is around that area.”

The Canadian Coast Guard said on Sunday it was still trying to locate a number of the containers that had fallen overboard on Friday.

The US Coast Guard said earlier it was tracking 35 containers.

#BreakingNews Coast Guard crews are monitoring several adrift shipping containers 43 miles west of the Straits of Juan de Fuca entrance. An inbound vessel lost approx. 40 containers when the ship listed to its side due to rough seas. Check back for updates. pic.twitter.com/GInKf8M0sB

— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) October 22, 2021

Efforts to retrieve some of the containers currently being monitored can’t start until after a break in the storm, which is forecast to worsen until Monday, Canadian officials told CTV.

“This is extremely concerning,” David Boudinot, president of the Surfrider Foundation Canada environmental organisation, told the Vancouver Sun. “The ship and containers are very close to Victoria, BC, and a big storm is forecast to hit tonight. We are worried this may be yet another environmental disaster.”

According to the Daily Mail, the Zim Kingston is a Maltese-flagged containership built in 2008, with capacity for 4253 six metre containers.

It had departed from Busan, South Korea, bound for Canada.

Its Greece-based owner, Danaos Shipping Co, said in a statement on Sunday that no injuries had been reported and the fire “appears to have been contained”.

Floating containers seen by a US Coast Guard helicopter. Picture: @USCGPacificNW/Twitter

At least two of the containers contain hazardous material. Picture: @USCGPacificNW/Twitter

Authorities are still trying to locate some of the containers. Picture: @USCGPacificNW/Twitter

The containers were lost in rough weather known as a “bomb cyclone”, or bombogenesis.

“Bombogenesis, a popular term used by meteorologists, occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours,” the US National Ocean Service explains.

“A millibar measures atmospheric pressure. This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters.

“The formation of this rapidly strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis, which creates what is known as a bomb cyclone.”

According to the World Shipping Council, an average of 568 containers were lost at sea every year between 2008 and 2016.

The incident comes amid a global supply chain crisis which has seen container ships forced to wait up to a month off the coast of California to unload their cargo at two of the country’s major ports.

Originally published as ‘Bomb cyclone’ knocks dozens of containers into Pacific Ocean as cargo ship catches fire