Fire onboard "ZIM Kingston" under control
The fire, which broke out onboard the "ZIM Kingston" last week, has been extinguished, the carrier said in a press release. On Friday 22 October 2021, the vessel, chartered by ZIM, en route from Pusan to Vancouver, ran into very heavy weather conditions. Dozens of containers fell overboard.
The Canadian coast guard and other local authorities were notified, and the vessel was instructed to anchor off the Canadian coast.
Some containers on board were damaged and caught fire. Most crew members were evacuated from the vessel, and a few stayed on board to assist with the firefighting efforts. All crew members are reported safe.
Firefighting tugboats continue to operate to prevent renewed flare-ups. An expert crew is preparing to go aboard to assess the state of the vessel and the cargo situation, as authorised by the Canadian authorities, in order to bring the ship to harbour to unload the cargo and evaluate the damages. (sh)