Posted on Feb 15, 2022
Cargo-spilling ship leaves Northwest, returns to Asia
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Nearly four months after spilling 109 shipping containers off the Washington and British Columbia coasts, the Zim Kingston left North American waters on Wednesday.
There’s still no sign of 105 containers that the cargo ship lost during a storm in October, about 40 miles west of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and 30 miles southwest of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.
Large volumes of debris from the Oct. 21 spill drifted north onto wilderness beaches at the north end of Vancouver Island within a week. At least one bit of plastic debris floated as far as Haida Gwaii, the island chain just south of Canada’s border with Alaska, a few days later.
A Yeti brand plastic cooler washed up some 450 miles northwest of the spill in near-perfect condition on Oct. 30, according to the Council of the Haida Nation, the Indigenous government of Haida Gwaii.
The tides have delivered more coolers since then, banged up but often still usable.
There’s still no sign of 105 containers that the cargo ship lost during a storm in October, about 40 miles west of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and 30 miles southwest of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.
Large volumes of debris from the Oct. 21 spill drifted north onto wilderness beaches at the north end of Vancouver Island within a week. At least one bit of plastic debris floated as far as Haida Gwaii, the island chain just south of Canada’s border with Alaska, a few days later.
A Yeti brand plastic cooler washed up some 450 miles northwest of the spill in near-perfect condition on Oct. 30, according to the Council of the Haida Nation, the Indigenous government of Haida Gwaii.
The tides have delivered more coolers since then, banged up but often still usable.
Cargo-spilling ship leaves Northwest, returns to Asia
Posted from kuow.orgPosted in these groups: 
Shipping
International Trade
State of Washington
British ColumbiaState of Alaska
Shipping International Trade State of Washington British ColumbiaState of Alaska
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The coolers, which sell for about $450 at REI, have become a hot commodity in the remote archipelago.
"A lot of locals are quite excited about the prospect of beachcombing for a Yeti cooler," said Julien Braun, who chairs a task force on marine debris in Haida Gwaii and works in marine planning for the Council of the Haida Nation.
Haida Nation president Gaagwiis Jason Alsop could not be reached Friday.
Gwaii Haanas Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site scientist Geoff Martynuik celebrates after finding an expensive cooler washed up on the west coast of Haida Gwaii on Oct.
The 180-mile-long island chain has a population of around 5,000. Many of its rainforest beaches see little human activity.
Haida Gwaii beachcombers discovered less-desirable debris in November and December on beaches closer to the island chain's main towns: inflatable paddle boards, plastic soup lids, rubber boots, toy unicorns, urinal screens, and bags of prawn chips — usually torn open by crows or ravens by the time human eyes spotted them.
Marine debris is nothing new to the offshore archipelago. Ocean currents regularly deposit everything from soda bottles to Japanese glass fishing floats onto Haida Gwaii's west coast.
"Just the way that the water moves, there’s some areas that get hit really heavily with debris from all over the world," Braun said."...
..."The coolers, which sell for about $450 at REI, have become a hot commodity in the remote archipelago.
"A lot of locals are quite excited about the prospect of beachcombing for a Yeti cooler," said Julien Braun, who chairs a task force on marine debris in Haida Gwaii and works in marine planning for the Council of the Haida Nation.
Haida Nation president Gaagwiis Jason Alsop could not be reached Friday.
Gwaii Haanas Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site scientist Geoff Martynuik celebrates after finding an expensive cooler washed up on the west coast of Haida Gwaii on Oct.
The 180-mile-long island chain has a population of around 5,000. Many of its rainforest beaches see little human activity.
Haida Gwaii beachcombers discovered less-desirable debris in November and December on beaches closer to the island chain's main towns: inflatable paddle boards, plastic soup lids, rubber boots, toy unicorns, urinal screens, and bags of prawn chips — usually torn open by crows or ravens by the time human eyes spotted them.
Marine debris is nothing new to the offshore archipelago. Ocean currents regularly deposit everything from soda bottles to Japanese glass fishing floats onto Haida Gwaii's west coast.
"Just the way that the water moves, there’s some areas that get hit really heavily with debris from all over the world," Braun said."...
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