Golden Ray cargo vessel stands capsized in Georgia this week for the 2019 RSM Classic, reports Golf.
Vessel on blaze
On the morning of Sunday, September 9, the vessel, known as Golden Ray, caught fire and capsized just off the shore from St. Simons Island where Sea Island Resort and the RSM Classic are located.
The vehicle-carrying ship flipped on its side shortly after leaving the nearby port of Brunswick, Georgia.
It was carrying an incredible 4,000 vehicles at the time of the incident.
WOW: Look st this view of the overturned cargo ship in St.Simons Sound. Hundreds of crew memebera out here working to lessen environmental impacts from the #GoldenRay. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/4RLWg3qIN7
— Beth Rousseau (@WFLABeth) October 1, 2019
Investigation underway
The incident is still under investigation, but all 24 crew members were rescued safely.
Four of those crew members were stuck on the ship for more than a day, but rescue personnel were eventually able to drill a hole in the hull and escort them to safety.
.@USCG and rescue crews have extracted the final #GoldenRay crew member safely. All crew members are accounted for. Operations will now shift fully to environmental protection, removing the vessel and resuming commerce. #HappeningNow #BreakingNews #Breaking pic.twitter.com/YgEM6Eb2qO
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 9, 2019
Salvage operation required
Authorities determined that “it’s not possible to safely right and re-float the Golden Ray fully intact.”
So instead salvage crews will have to dismantle the ship and remove it from the water piece by piece.
In the meantime, they are removing hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel to prevent it from leaking into the ocean.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1172108571410096129
Long recovery process
In October, the Coast Guard reported that they had also recovered about 500 gallons of oily waste from the water after the capsizing.
The recovery process will take a long time, and until then golfers enjoying the courses at Sea Island will have the ship as a backdrop.
It will certainly make for some interesting photographs of this year’s RSM Classic.
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Source: Golf
