The Canadian Coast Guard said four cargo ship containers that went overboard from the MV Zim Kingston have washed ashore on northern Vancouver Island.
The containers went overboard on Friday when the vessel encountered rough seas.
A container fire broke out on the ship the following day while it was anchored near Victoria. Potassium amylxanthate, a hazardous chemical widely used in the mining industry, was stored in two of the containers that caught fire, as well as two of the containers that went overboard.
On Wednesday, the coast guard revised the number of containers that fell overboard to 109, up from an original estimate of 40. Two of the overboard containers are holding hazardous materials.
Four overboard containers were spotted on the coastline near Cape Scott on Wednesday afternoon. A container holding refrigerators had broken open, the coast guard said.
The coast guard confirmed that containers found ashore did not contain goods that could be considered dangerous.
The ship’s owner has hired a contractor to recover the containers, the coast guard said.
A Port Hardy resident shared photos of items strewn on a beach near Cape Scott on social media, saying, “there is stuff everywhere fridges, rain boots, shoes, toys, Chinese checkers boards, baby oil, food packs, hair wax, styrofoam, backpacks and more.”
The coast guard said, but they will continue their search. Some of the containers have already sunk, while those that remain adrift will continue to move north.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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