Shipping containers that fell from the MV Zim Kingston are somewhere around the Cape Scott area of northern Vancouver Island and could make their way to shore, the Canadian Coast Guard said Tuesday.
“These containers may come ashore, and if they do, we ask that the public report any sightings of the containers,” Gillian Oliver, advanced planning unit leader with the coast guard, said at a press briefing.
A Transport Canada flight has been scheduled for Tuesday to try to locate the 40 containers that fell overboard during stormy weather.
None of the adrift containers have been recovered, Oliver said.
“It’s definitely possible that some of them could sink,” she said. “We’re not speculating on what will happen at this time. We’re continuing to track those containers and to make every effort to recover them.”
Officials say they are still not sure what sparked the fire in several containers aboard the MV Zim Kingston, which is now anchored at the Constance Bank Anchorage south of the provincial capital.
The coast guard said smoke is still an issue aboard the vessel, as at least five fires burn in containers that are believed to be storing tires.
There are a total of 20 personnel on the vessel including crew members, surveyors and a firefighting team.
Paul Barrett with the coast guard said it may take another two to three days to ready the vessel for further salvage actions.
The province says air quality continues to be monitored in the Greater Victoria region with no concerns to public health.
— with files from The Canadian Press