MV ZIM KINGSTON Loses Containers & Catches Fire Off Victoria | WGOW Shipping & gCaptain Special(rev)

October 24, 2021

On this expanded and special edition of What's Going on Shipping, Sal Mercogliano is joined by the CEO of gCaptain, Captain John Konrad, to discuss the loss of containers and fire on board MV ZIM Kingston off Victoria, along the Canadian west coast. We also discuss the larger implications of the fire and the danger to the ships currently engaged in trade and at anchor off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

[NOTE: This is an edited video with improved sound quality]

00:00 Incident Recap
03:20 John Konrad's Assessment
19:24 Implications of Fire to West Coast
32:55 How to Reform Maritime Sector
51:23 Conclusion

Zim Kingston Fire ‘Appears To Be Contained’

10 Abandon Zim Kingston But Firefighting Efforts Continue

ZIM Kingston On Fire Off Victoria, BC After Losing Containers in Heavy Seas

ZIM Kingston Marine Traffic

ZIM KINGSTON Voyage No12

Canadian Coast Guard on Twitter

Potassium amylxanthate

X-Press Pearl Captain Arrested -Media

Wakashio Captain Confirms He Navigated Close to Shore to Pick Up Cell Signal, But Blames Chief Officer for Grounding

[TheJttv]

Shout-out The Ocean Cleanup project. They doing good work. It is not enough but its more than anyone else can say they are doing. Also they are very lucky those two ships were in port they literally just got back to port from the great pacific garbage patch a few days ago.

[champ]

Great episode. Incredible the amount of knowledge you and Capt. Konrad shared. Now I will be checking Marine Traffic twice a day to see what happens in SoCal anchorages with the coming storm. Thanks, Sal.

[waltergonzalez]

Sal, I would have never guessed how much goes on with shipping. Thank you for all the info!

[markwadsworth]

The Bonhomme Richard problem looks like the new kids running the Navy forgot the forest fire lessons

[buckshot]

We used to load hazmat cargo on either side of the vessel so we could push them overboard if necessary. I was the agent for the MSC at Blount Island Command and there was a container on the dock that was smoking. It was loaded with MRE'S and water got inside. It never got loaded on the ship, but there was an investigation as to how they were packed and stowed.

[narrowgroundentertainment]

I'm a trucker watching this about 20 months later, but I do have a thought about the lines of ships at ports. First-come-first-served is not a good way to manage something as large as a port. It's asking for exactly the situation you guys described, carriers rushing vehicles to the site for an earlier place in line. In trucking that works okay for a small volume shipper, but the few larger warehouses I've gone to that operated this way are all excrement exhibitions. When I go to a medium-to-large facility to deliver or pick up a load, I usually have an appointment time; arriving early is fine but not necessarily beneficial, while arriving late is penalized. If you're late, you'll get a door when they have time for you. If you arrive early or on time and can't be handled on time, the dock is billed an extra fee for "detention, " which is often paid to the driver. I would have expected a similar system for ports, although maybe using days rather than a specific hour.

[CynthiaVicario]

Happy Birthday Sal. Each episode gets better and better and can’t thank you enough for your in depth knowledge. You are the one and it seems only one addressing this crisis, and offering solutions to a real time issue that’s factual . I’m just astounded at the lack of responses from decision makers. Please continue posting/ creating videos . We appreciate the effort and we are listening! Thank you to all individuals in the field that are commenting as well. It truly gives one a sense of those in the trenches and dealing with these daily issues . 🙏🏽🌊🚢

[youreckonso]

ship headed in to a big storm, casual observer says, "Gee Captain, shouldn't we turn left or right?"

[helenstella]

Sal, could you look into the Singapore harbor? From what I understand, it is the second largest and considered the best in the world. What a contrast to the ones in the US. I read that Singapore plans to build an entirely new harbor that will be entirely automated.

[anyaivanova]

Happy birthday and the best wishes! I honestly never thought I’d be interested in shipping this much. The way Sal talks about it and shares his knowledge is priceless.

[PaulOfPeace]

Good call by the Captain for not abandoning ship. They will have access to the manifest to assist the fire fighting.

[victorv]

Great insights, Sal. You are absolutely right about the hands off approach from DOT and MARAD and their genuflection to commercial entities.

[GeraldFGraham]

Interesting discussion. Glad to see my photo of the ship on fire being prominently displayed and referred to extensively.

[topiasr]

Great, indepth look - as always! Great job to both of you in putting this together!

[ChickennGritss]

Sad to say Big global corporations shirk responsibility in well thought out safety plans... we all have heard their one size fits all motto... We are sorry that happened to you, will there be anything else? All the best to you Sal Happy Birthday. Your channel is a excellent think tank as a Trucker that used to run the New Jersey and New York ports you make it really come alive. God Bless

[youreckonso]

"no way to look inside these containers" - what could possibly go wrong??

[phillip]

Just an update. To date, Jan. 25, 2022, only 4 of the 109 containers lost at sea have been recovered.

[RealMisterDoge]

This was such a fantastic discussion, I learned a lot

[elauraholydayyy]

200 unanswered questions,
100 coinsidences,
50 hard facts
0 spoken of truths

[Lost-In-Blank]

Unlike the metal potassium, few potassium compounds are explosive when exposed to water, for example potassium chloride (a major component of sea salt).
Potassium amyl xanthate is soluble in water, it is dissolved in water when used in its intended use in industry. My guess is that they're worried about what is in other containers in the same or adjacent stacks.