71 refrigerators cleaned off Canadian beach after container ship Bomb Cyclone mishap
Dozens of refrigerators and bags of Styrofoam and garbage have been cleared from the beaches of Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept off the M/V Zim Kingston during a Pacific storm last month.
Debris washes ashore on Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept overboard off the M/V Zim Kingston.
(Canadian Coast Guard)
VICTORIA, B.C. -- Dozens of refrigerators and bags of Styrofoam and garbage have been cleared from the beaches of Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept off the M/V Zim Kingston during a Pacific storm last month and crashed ashore near Cape Palmerston, according to the Canadian Coast Guard.
But crews are still busy cleaning up other messes left behind from the wayward shipping containers.
Debris washes ashore on Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept overboard off the M/V Zim Kingston.
(Canadian Coast Guard)
The Zim Kingston first ran into trouble on Oct. 22 when waves estimated at 15 feet from the first of two Bomb Cyclones to swirl in the eastern Pacific Ocean caused the ship to list as it was about 43 miles off the coast of Neah Bay, Washington.
LEARN: WHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?
#CCGLive: The Atlantic Raven continues to support operations at the #ZimKingston today with emergency tow and firefighting capacity if needed. Firefighters continue to work on the ship and on-shore air quality monitoring continues to show no impacts. pic.twitter.com/rrnhZ2cdrg
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 28, 2021
Over 100 shipping containers were knocked off the ship, leaving them floating north toward Vancouver Island. Several remaining containers caught fire once the boat reached Victoria, B.C., including some carrying hazardous chemicals. Sixteen of the ship's 21 crew members were evacuated, and it took two days to bring the fire under control. No one was injured.
Four of the containers have since washed ashore at Cape Palmerston and Guise Bay, the Coast Guard said, with one container breached and another damaged. Zim Kingston's parent company hired contractors who have since spent days cleaning the beaches of 71 refrigerators, 81 bags of Styrofoam, 19 bags of garbage, and 11 large "helicopter bags" of debris.
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Image 1 of 19Helicopters take away bags of damaged goods that washed ashore on Vancouver Island (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 2 of 19Debris washes ashore on Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept overboard off the M/V Zim Kingston. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 3 of 19Debris washes ashore on Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept overboard off the M/V Zim Kingston. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 4 of 19Helicopters take away bags of damaged goods that washed ashore on Vancouver Island (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 5 of 19Debris washes ashore on Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept overboard off the M/V Zim Kingston. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 6 of 19Debris washes ashore on Vancouver Island after shipping containers were swept overboard off the M/V Zim Kingston. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 7 of 19Canadian Coast Guard inspectors board the M/V Zim Kingston on Friday in order to do a marine safety compliance inspection. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 8 of 19Containers that had fallen off the M/V Zim Kingston spotted on the shores of Vancouver Island. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 9 of 19Containers that had fallen off the M/V Zim Kingston spotted on the shores of Vancouver Island. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 10 of 19Containers that had fallen off the M/V Zim Kingston spotted on the shores of Vancouver Island. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 11 of 19Damaged and burned containers sit on the M/V Kingston near the Port of Victoria, B.C. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 12 of 19Damaged and burned containers sit on the M/V Kingston near the Port of Victoria, B.C. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 13 of 19Damage left after containers burn on M/V ZIM Kingston. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 14 of 1910 containers burn on the M/V ZIM Kingston in the port of Victoria, B.C. (U.S. Coast Guard)
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Image 15 of 1910 containers burn on the M/V ZIM Kingston in the port of Victoria, B.C. (U.S. Coast Guard)
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Image 16 of 1910 containers burn on the M/V ZIM Kingston in the port of Victoria, B.C. (U.S. Coast Guard)
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Image 17 of 1910 containers burn on the M/V ZIM Kingston in the port of Victoria, B.C. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 18 of 19Damage left after containers burn on M/V ZIM Kingston. (Canadian Coast Guard)
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Image 19 of 1910 containers burn on the M/V ZIM Kingston in the port of Victoria, B.C. (Canadian Coast Guard)
Officials say Cape Palmerston beach is now clear, but debris remains in Guise Bay, and cleanup efforts will now focus there as weather permits.
#CCGLive: The owner of the #ZimKingston has hired a contractor to remove debris from the beach as well as recover the containers. As of this update, no other containers have been found on shore. pic.twitter.com/BaSO6fQsr6
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) October 29, 2021
The other 105 lost containers remain at sea or undiscovered. Two of them were carrying hazardous materials, the Coast Guard said. But the rest were carrying such items as Christmas decorations, sofas, poker tables, metal car parts, clothing, toys, yoga mats, stand-up paddleboards, "and other things that Canadians use and enjoy every day," Coast Guard officials said. Some of the containers may have sunk.
Canadian Coast Guard inspectors board the M/V Zim Kingston on Friday in order to do a marine safety compliance inspection.
(Canadian Coast Guard)
Meanwhile, three Coast Guard vessels remain with the Zim Kingston near the Port of Victoria as cleanup and cargo stabilization efforts continue in the wake of the fire.
The Coast Guard says if any members of the public find a container on shore, don't open it but call 1-800-889-8852 immediately.