Fire on evacuated container ship extinguished, Zim says

A fire aboard a container vessel near British Columbia has been extinguished, according to the company which operates the vessel.

Sixteen people were rescued over the weekend from the Zim Kingston, the Canadian Coast Guard said on Twitter. The fire has been put out and firefighting tugboats are operating to prevent renewed flareups, with firefighters due to board as soon as weather conditions allow, Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. said in a statement Monday. 

The Canadian coast guard stabilized the blaze on Sunday, after the fire first broke out late Saturday local time. Smoke was being tracked at air-quality monitoring stations around the area of Victoria on Vancouver Island, and local health officials were given those results, the coast guard said.

The Zim Kingston lost more than 40 containers in rough seas on Friday, with the U.S. Coast Guard saying in a Twitter post that it was monitoring several of them after they went adrift in the choppy conditions.

Zim added in the statement that it “is working closely with all relevant agencies to secure the crew safety and minimize environmental impact.” The Israeli shipping firm said it’s providing all information needed to assess any potential environmental effects, safety of navigation or other concerns.