Question Period Note: FOPO Marine Cargo Container Spills Report

The Canadian Coast Guard response to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Marine Cargo Container Spills Report.

• The Canadian Coast Guard welcomes the recommendations of the Standing Committee related to marine cargo spills and has worked with partner departments to provide a comprehensive response to the Report.
• Improving and expanding services to Canadians to protect Canada’s environment and support economic prosperity is a key focus.
• The health and sustainability of our marine environment is linked not only to Canada’s prosperity but to global well-being. Improvements to our marine pollution response services are beneficial to all Canadians.

Zim Kingston
• October 21, 2021, the ZIM KINGSTON reported having lost 40 containers when encountering adverse weather and heavy swells, approximately 38 nautical miles west of the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait, off the coast of Vancouver Island, BC. The ship later reported that 109 containers had been lost; two of which contained hazardous chemicals that were prone to combustion when exposed to water.
• On October 23, 2021, damaged cargo still on board the ship caught fire. Sixteen (16) crew members were evacuated by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and 5 crew members stayed aboard to fight the fire. The owner of the vessel contracted two commercial tugs to assist in firefighting activities. Since it was known that two more containers containing hazardous chemicals that were prone to combustion remained in the damaged cargo, fire suppression and cooling of the remaining cargo tactics were used to reduce the risk of fire or explosion. The CCG’s Atlantic Raven was tasked to support fire suppression and towing operations.
• The 109 containers went overboard in Cape Flattery. Containers drifted north and 4 containers beached at 4 locations on the northwest tip of Vancouver Island.
• The containers were mostly general cargo (toys, games, sports equipment, furniture, electrical machinery, general household goods, footwear/clothing, photography/optical equipment and vehicle parts).
• Two of the containers that fell overboard were known to contain hazardous materials – non marine polluting.
• While the CCG managed the overall response to the Zim Kingston incident, including the cargo debris cleanup, the owner of the vessel took a proactive role throughout the response and hired a salvage contractor to track and remove the beached containers. They also hired private industry, nonprofit organizations and First Nations to support beach cleanup operations.
• Sonar scans to locate the sunken containers have been conducted by the ship owner at Constance Bank anchorage and at Cape Flattery. No containers were found at Constance Bank. Results were inconclusive in identifying container-sized objects at Cape Flattery. The CCG continues to work with the ship’s representative to remediate reports of possible Zim Kingston debris.

Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans Report on Marine Cargo Container Spills
• The Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (the committee) agreed to undertake a study of the effects of “cargo container spills on Canada’s marine environment with regard to
o (i) the environmental impacts of cargo container spills;
o (ii) improving response times and efficacy to cargo spills;
o (iii) addressing jurisdictional gaps to improve collaboration with volunteer, charitable organizations, provincial and territorial agencies, municipalities, and Indigenous communities during spill responses;
o (iv) improving polluter responsibility and financial accountability.”
• From March 2022 to June 2022, the Committee held six meetings on the subject of Marine Cargo Container Spills with government officials and industry, Indigenous community, and non-profit organizations representatives.
• As a result of those meetings, the Committee has made twenty-nine (29) recommendations directed at the Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and Transport Canada.
• The scope of recommendations encompasses establishing marine debris monitoring and cleanup capacity; investing in research and monitoring to understand the impacts of polystyrene and other plastics; establishing marine cargo spill response capacity; expanding container ship regulations; building regulations for ships’ manifest information; establishing Hazardous and Noxious Substance spill response; establishing marine firefighting capacity; expanding emergency towing capacity; examining alternate funding mechanisms beyond the polluter-pays mechanism; championing the ban on the use of polystyrene foam in international fora; and collaborating with Indigenous communities to ensure they are active partners in marine cargo clean-up efforts.
• The 29 recommendations include 5 on environmental impacts; 15 on incident response; 8 on cross jurisdiction collaboration; and, 1 on polluter responsibility and financial accountability.
• The majority of recommendations were directed to DFO and Transport Canada. Input on a number of recommendations was also required from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canada Border Services Agency (manifests) and Innovation Science and Economic Development (cellular and broadband for coastal communities).
• Budget 2022 announced the intention to propose amendments to the Canada Shipping Act 2001 to enable the proactive management of marine emergencies and to cover more types of pollution.
Amendments to Canada Shipping Act 2001 would address a number of the Standing Committee’s recommendations.
• Oceans Protection Plan renewal, launched in 2022, also includes new funding to enhance Hazardous and Noxious Substances preparedness and response and improving overall coordination for all marine spills.
• The Government of Canada submitted its responses to the 29 recommendations to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans on February 1, 2023.
• The Government’s Response can be found at the following link on the House of Commons website: https://www.ourcommons.ca/content/Committee/441/FOPO/GovResponse/RP12192244/441FOPORpt06_GR/DepartmentOfTransport-e.pdf

If pressed on Zim Kingston
• The Zim Kingston incident was a complicated response operation that highlighted the many challenges of responding to marine container spills. We are committed to further enhancing our capabilities to respond to these kinds of incidents in the future.
• Investments from Budget 2022 that support the second phase of the Oceans Protection Plan will help strengthen the Canadian marine safety system to prepare for and respond to similar incidents.