Cargo ship fire off Canada said controlled

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian Coast Guard officials said Sunday that a fire that was burning in several containers aboard a cargo ship off the coast of British Columbia appeared to be out.

The Coast Guard said it received word late Saturday morning that a fire had broken out in 10 damaged containers aboard the MV Zim Kingston, which is now anchored about 5 miles off the provincial capital of Victoria, and that two of the burning containers held hazardous material identified.

“The majority of the fire is actually out,” JJ Brickett, federal incident commander with the Canadian Coast Guard, said during a teleconference Sunday. “We still see it smoldering.”

The Coast Guard said the hazardous material inside the containers prevented the ship’s crew from spraying cold water directly on the fire. Efforts to retrieve the containers would not be able to start until after a break in a storm that was forecast to worsen until today, authorities said.

The Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre in Victoria reported 16 crewmembers were safely taken off the ship, while five others, including the captain, remained on board at their own behest.