Fire burns aboard container ship off British Columbia

A fire is burning in several containers aboard a cargo ship off Canada's Pacific coast province of British Columbia, and authorities say hazardous materials in two containers could pose a risk to maritime traffic but not to areas on shore

VICTORIA, British Columbia -- A fire burned in several containers aboard a cargo ship off Canada's Pacific coast province of British Columbia on Sunday, and authorities said hazardous materials in two containers could pose a risk to maritime traffic but not to areas on shore.

The Canadian 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 five miles off the provincial capital of Victoria.

The agency said two of the burning containers held potassium amylxanthate, a hazardous material that prevented the ship's crew from spraying cold water directly on the fire. It said an emergency zone had been doubled to two nautical miles around the Zim Kingston.

The agency said in a tweet that the hull of the ship had been cooled overnight by a tugboat spraying it with water. It noted the ship itself was not on fire.