Ummatimes - A total of 16 crew members were evacuated from the MV Zim Kingston on Saturday. While five remained on board to extinguish the fire.

The company that manages the container ship, Danaos Shipping Co, said in a statement no injuries were reported. The fire appears to have been put out and rescue workers and firefighters were deployed to ensure the safe return of the crew.

The ship was anchored a few kilometers off the southern coast of Vancouver Island. The islanders were not in danger and transit of commercial ships to the harbor of Vancouver and the port of Seattle was not hindered.

The Canadian coast guard said it was working with partners from the United States (US) to track down 40 containers that fell into the sea when Zim Kingston faced bad weather on Friday. The incident poses a significant risk to seafarers.

The coast guard is still tracking these containers to be picked up by the rescue company hired by the boat owners. Right now neither of them seemed to be drifting towards the shore.

"Seafarers are advised to stay away from the area. There is currently no safety risk to people on shore, but the situation will continue to be monitored," the coast guard said earlier.

Canadian Coast Guard Commander JJ Brickett said the company had indicated the fire had extinguished on its own. The tugboat had sprayed water around the area of ​​the fire to keep it from spreading and a flyover helicopter gathered evidence that the move was successful.

"We couldn't see anything charred or burnt from those adjacent containers, which is a very good sign. The fire was smoldering as you'd expect and we're continuing to cool on both sides," Brickett said.

The coast guard told all ships to stay at least two nautical miles from the scene. The Ministry of Transportation has restricted all aircraft, including drones, from flying within two nautical miles or below 2,000 feet on board ships.