--- title: "Shipping Containers of “Spontaneous Combustibles” Fall Overboard" description: "A container ship encountered rough seas in Canadian waters on Friday, dropping several containers of \"spontaneous combustibles.\"" date: "2021-10-23" modified: "2021-10-23" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/shipping-containers-spontaneous-combustibles" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "canada" - "oceans" - "shipping" - "the digest" --- # Shipping Containers of “Spontaneous Combustibles” Fall Overboard ![A container ship encountered rough seas in Canadian waters on Friday, dropping several containers of "spontaneous combustibles."]() *BRANSCOMBE, UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 21: A rescue boat attempts to help the strickened container ship MSC Napoli, January 21 2007, at Branscombe, England. The container ship was beached off the coast after running into difficulties while being towed to Portland during the recent bad weather. A number of the containers have been lost overboard and there are fears that their contents may pollute the coast. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Flotsam A container ship encountered rough seas in Canadian waters on Friday, causing about 40 shipping containers to fall overboard — and several, authorities are warning, contain "spontaneous combustibles" that could ignite or explode when exposed to air or water. The US and Canadian Coast Guards say they're both working to find the hazardous containers, which fell off a cargo vessel called the Zim Kingston near the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Canada's west coast, and have already located some of them. "Two of the containers have been identified as carrying spontaneous combustibles," US Coast Guard spokesperson Diolanda Caballeros [told the *Vancouver Sun*](). "They are currently drifting north but we can’t predict which way they will go because of the heavy weather. The bomb cyclone (storm) is around that area." ## Ship Wrecked It remains unclear exactly what the containers contain, but [according to Cornell University](), "spontaneous combustibles" refer to volatile chemicals that can "spontaneously ignite in the presence of air" or even water vapor, such as white phosphorous. With such a vast swathe of the global economy relying on container shipping, wrecks can pose substantial environmental hazards, as when the MSC Napoli — pictured above — [ran aground in 2007](). It's also unknown whether the contents of the containers will pose an environmental risk, although a Canadian government representative told the *Vancouver Sun* that an analysis of "pollution threats and hazards" is ongoing. The most immediate concern, though, is that a ship could hit the partially submerged containers and prompt a fire or explosion, with the US Coast Guard Navigation Center [warning vessels]() to "exercise extreme caution" in the region. **READ MORE:** [Two containers of hazardous materials among 40 that went overboard near Vancouver Island]() \[*The* *Vancouver Sun*\] **More on shipping containers:** [*Here’s How Many Shipping Containers You Could Fit Inside SpaceX’s Starship*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()