A helicopter flight has showed problem shipping containers on Shuttleworth Bight and Sea Otter Cove on Thursday. The containers washed ashore after falling from cargo ship MV Zim Kingston off B.C.’s coast last month.
They have ruptured amid stormy weather and spilled debris on the pair of beaches in Cape Scott Provincial Park on northern Vancouver Island.
In a Friday update, the multi-agency unified command reported the observation of the ruptured containers.
The container breaks have been reported to the contractor hired by the ship’s owner. Clean-up crews will be deployed as soon as it is safe for them to access those areas. Clean-up efforts will continue in areas that are more accessible, the unified command said.
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The newly-ruptured containers were carrying fridges and sporting goods.
Local First Nations and the Canadian Coast Guard have also identified new areas of debris along Vancouver Island’s north coast, unified command said.
Danaos Shipping Co., the manager of the Zim Kingston, has hired additional beach cleanup organizations and local First Nations in response to the additional debris.
To the south of the provincial park, cleanup crews unloaded 95 per cent of a container that washed up in Raft Cove, with contents being prepared for removal by helicopter, unified command said.
Just four containers lost from the MV Zim Kingston in rough seas near the Juan de Fuca Strait have been located. Another 105, including two filled with hazardous materials, remain missing.
The damaged vessel remains moored near Victoria. Officials said work to secure its remaining cargo had been completed.
The vessel has since been cleared to move to a berth or anchorage in Nanaimo or Metro Vancouver.
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