Vancouver: Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) was investigating on Monday the causes of a fire on board a container ship at a Vancouver dockyard.
Fire broke out in the generator room of the Cap Blanche (37,882 dwt, 2006 built) after it finished unloading at Fraser Surrey Docks on Sunday.
The fire caused a temporary shutdown of the docks but the blaze was quickly doused, causing little damage to the 2,741 teu (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and producing no reports of injuries or spills into the water.
Fraser Surrey Docks is located on Port Metro Vancouver property along the Fraser River in Surrey, which is the largest city by area in the greater Vancouver area.
Cap Blanche is operated by Harmstorf Thomas Meier-Hedde of Germany and sails under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda.
As the regulatory authority, the TSB will check the vessel before it can leave berth, putting it through a series of tests before it’s deemed to be seaworthy.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada conducts investigations into selected occurrences to advance transportation safety. The TSB does not regulate nor does it “check” vessels. That may be the responsibility of Transport Canada.
John Cottreau
Media Relations
Transportation Safety Board of Canada