by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor
In October 2021, ZIM Kingston – a 4253 TEU container vessel - experienced a 36° roll and lost 109 containers overboard while drifting off the coast of British Columbia.
The container loss was attributed to a phenomenon called parametric rolling, where sea conditions align with vessel-specific factors, resulting in dangerous rolling motions.
About 36 hours later, while the vessel was anchored off Victoria, BC, a fire broke out in a damaged container that carried potassium amyl xanthate, a reactive flammable material categorized as dangerous goods.
The fire eventually spread to nearby containers, creating a blaze that burned for five days before being extinguished.
Investigations into the incident continued for years. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) completed its investigation only recently and published a report with its outcomes on 31 July 2024.
According to the report, the investigation identified safety flaws and highlighted two main concerns:
- Lack of sufficient awareness and guidance for managing the risk of parametric rolling
- Deficiencies in Canada's preparedness for marine emergencies
In a press conference, Yoan Marier, a TSB board member, said: "This occurrence brought to the forefront the challenges that Canada faces when dealing with marine emergencies."
Marier believes the challenges go beyond the response capacity of the vessel crew and include the availability of resources to respond to vessel fires and incidents.
TSB Chair Kathy Fox further raised her concern about "gaps in Canada's preparedness for marine emergencies."
"It's not a matter of if but when a similar incident will occur, and the question is, will Canada be prepared for it?"
To better prepare for such events, the federal government intends to create a single system to respond to all marine pollution incidents. This includes developing regulations to strengthen the industry's preparedness requirements, which will take several years to accomplish.
Maersk and CMA CGM recent cases of parametric rolling
The ZIM Kingston incident was not the first or the only incident of parametric rolling in the container shipping industry.
On 16 January 2021, the Danish container ship Maersk Essen lost approximately 750 containers overboard due to heavy rolling while en route from Xiamen, China, to Los Angeles, USA. The amplitude of the rolls exceeded the ship's estimated limits, likely caused by parametric resonance.
Similarly, in January 2018, the container ship CMA CGM G. Washington unexpectedly rolled 20° to starboard, paused, and then rolled 20° to port in heavy seas in the North Pacific Ocean. A total of 137 containers were lost overboard, and 85 were damaged.
Parametric rolling was a contributing factor, according to the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
