The MCP Altona is a 629 TEU container vessel built by Shandong Huangai Shibuilding Co in 2007.

On December 23, 2010 while enroute from the Port of Vancouver

Port of Vancouver

The Port of Vancouver was the name of the largest port in Canada, the largest in the Pacific Northwest, and the largest port on the West Coast of North America by metric tons of total cargo, with 76.5 million metric tons...

, Canada, to Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang , formerly known as Tsamkong, Tsankiang, Fort-Bayard, and Kwang-Chou-Wan, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province of Southern China, facing the island of Hainan to the south....

, China, the ship ran into rough weather between Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and Midway Islands, causing some containers of uranium concentrate to open; on January 3, when Cameco

Cameco

Cameco Corporation is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 2009, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 16% of world production.-History:...

 became aware of the spill, it ordered the ship to return to Canada; the ship docked off Ladysmith

Ladysmith, British Columbia

Ladysmith is a town located on the 49th parallel on the east coast of Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada. The local economy is based on forestry, tourism and agriculture. A hillside location adjacent to a sheltered harbour form the natural characteristics of the community., the population...

, where the spill was inspected by Cameco, Transport Canada

Transport Canada

Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...

 and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission , previously known as the Atomic Energy Control Board , is the governmental nuclear power and materials watchdog in Canada...

. On January 20, the ship docked back in Vancouver to refuel, restock supplies. The ship had 24 sea containers on board each containing up to 35 drums for a total of 840 drums or 350,000 kg of uranium concentrate.