Posted on 10/24/2021 11:43:30 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
VICTORIA — Applying cold water directly to a fire burning in 10 containers aboard a cargo ship near Victoria is not an option due to hazardous materials in two of them, the Canadian Coast Guard said Sunday.
The agency said in a tweet that the hull of the MV Zim Kingston had been cooled overnight by a tugboat spraying it with water.
It said the blaze aboard the ship about eight kilometres off the coast of Victoria poses a significant risk to mariners but not people on shore.
The coast guard said it received word late Saturday morning about a fire in 10 damaged containers aboard the vessel, which was anchored in Constance Bank, B.C.
Two of the burning containers on the deck held 52,000 kilograms of a hazardous material identified as potassium amylxanthate, the agency said in a news release.
It noted the ship itself was not on fire, but said in a tweet that an emergency zone had been doubled to two nautical miles around the Zim Kingston.
The Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre in Victoria said 16 crewmembers were safely taken off the ship, while five others, including the captain, remained on board at their own behest.
Canadian Coast Guard spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau said an incident command post led by the agency on behalf of the federal and B.C. governments, as well as First Nations representatives, was co-ordinating a multi-agency response to the fire.
She said the command post was also working with the U.S. Coast Guard to monitor 40 containers that fell overboard from the Zim Kingston in choppy waters on Friday and were floating about 12 nautical miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Bamfield, B.C.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Who owns the ship and who owns the hazardous cargo?
So, the containers on the shipyard fire and they had to cool the hull, But the ship is apparently fine. Got it. Why do I have a feeling we’re gonna see headline how the ship is now in the fire in sinking knowing government in competency.
From Wiki: “ Potassium amyl xanthate is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)4OCS2K. It is a pale yellow powder with a pungent odor that is soluble in water. It is widely used in the mining industry for the separation of ores using the flotation process.”
…
“ The LD50 is 480 mg/kg (oral, rat). [3]
It is a biodegradable compound.”
At 1 gram/ 5 lbs, it’s not especially toxic, but I wouldn’t want to breathe much in.
The ship is operating as an Israeli vessel by the name “ZIM”. A company I once worked for. Good company.
What about the fish, man? What about the fish?!?
Yeah but it is water soluble. It should be fine to extinguish with water unless I’m missing something.
There goes Christmas! I was planning on giving Mrs. Outofsalt a couple of kilos of potassium amylxanthate this year...
Vessel finder says it’s sailing as a Maltese flagged MV
Biden’s boat parade.
Note to self - hold off on wild caught salmon for a while.
Suggestion - divert the ship to the Port of Oakland for offloading.
That would be the flag of convenience. Many a vessel is registered to other governments than that of the operators for Insurance, tax, and other legal matters. “ZIM” is enough to tell me it’s an Israeli Company. I worked for them amongst others in the container trade back in the 70’s. It’s a private company these days. When I worked for them it was a government entity.
Good reminder. I get Alaskan wild-caught salmon burgers from Costco. As I understand it, the currents that cary crud from Fukushima do not reach salmon ground in Northern Alaska. Time for some research. Not ever going to buy farmed salmon—as in never.
The ship is near Victoria BC - who pumps raw sewage into the Strait. My imagination is running wild!!
Your Mrs. is into mineral flotation? That is cool!
I just read a book that had this type incident occur off Vancouver as a decoy. Except a timed magnesium device. Can’t remember the name of it though.
Full MSDS safety document
Short summary…. Spontaneously combusts. Water soluble. Hazardous via ingestion, inhalation and skin adsorption. Firefighting is by CO2 and chemical foams - no water for firefighting.
https://reviewboard.ca/upload/project_document/EA0809-004_MSDS_for_Potassium_Amyl_Xanthate.PDF
Fearless prediction by myself…. If either of the two shipping containers on the ship are breached by the fire or other means such as puncture, that ship is a goner.
wiki claims potassium amyl xanthate is biodegradable.
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