Wrecked Cargo Ship Near St. Simons Weathers Tropical Storm Isaias
Back in September, visitors look at a tugboat near the stern of the Golden Ray off the Georgia coast. Officials say the overturned cargo ship wasn’t affected by Tropical Storm Isaias, which passed the coast Monday.
Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press
Tropical Storm Isaias didn’t further damage the wrecked cargo ship near St. Simons as it passed the Georgia coast Monday. According to officials managing the cleanup, the Golden Ray wasn’t affected by the storm.
“I think it’s a relief that the storm did not do what we initially thought, which was impact the St. Simons area worse than we thought it would,” said incident commander Tom Wiker, with Gallagher Marine Systems. “I think we were prepared for it.”
He said members of the response operation were on nearby vessels monitoring the wreck while the storm passed. Before the storm, they moved equipment to protected sites.
The Golden Ray has been on its side – with thousands of cars inside – since it capsized while leaving the Port of Brunswick last September.
Officials had wanted to get it removed before hurricane season, but the coronavirus affected the process; there were delays in getting heavy equipment, some people working on the cleanup tested positive, and more had to go into quarantine.
Wreck-removal teams now plan to begin cutting up the Golden Ray and hauling it away in pieces in early October, after hurricane season ends.
Officials didn’t want to risk starting to slice up the ship, then facing another coronavirus-caused delay during hurricane season, Coast Guard Cmdr. Efren Lopez explained.
“Each time we make a cut, that makes the vessel a little more vulnerable,” he said. “Once we start cutting, we can’t stop because of COVID-19.”
The people who are cutting the ship will be isolated and live on a barge once they start that work.
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