With fires aboard the MV Zim Kingston under control, crews were able to survey the ship and determined more than 100 containers had been lost at sea, not the 40 originally reported.
Late Tuesday, authorities received updated accounting on the shipping containers from the owner of the Kingston, according to a statement from the Canadian Coast Guard. Of the almost 2,000 containers aboard the cargo ship, almost 1,000 were on deck. It has now been determined 106 containers fell overboard, not the 40 originally estimated by aircraft observation.
Two contain hazardous chemicals while the rest contain items including Christmas decorations, sofas, poker tables, metal car parts, clothing, toys, yoga mats, stand-up paddleboards and industrial parts.
With a complete list of contents from the overboard containers, incident command will be assessing potential impacts. It is suspected that some of the containers have sunk.
ALSO READ: Fires in cargo ship off B.C. coast may take days to put out: coast guard
A Canadian Coast Guard helicopter and Transport Canada National Aerial Surveillance Program plane are flying over the floating containers Wednesday in an attempt to get a better count on those that have travelled up to Cape Scott on northern Vancouver Island.
No containers have been reported to have made landfall. However, the Coast Guard asks the public to avoid opening the containers if they do make landfall and report discoveries by calling 1-800-889-8852.
Fires continue to smoulder aboard the Kingston, which is anchored off the coast of Victoria. Crews expect it could take several days before they are fully extinguished.
ALSO READ: Crews board smouldering MV Zim Kingston Monday night during break in strong winds
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