- the final cut begins on the Golden Ray
- the chain will turn the remaining stretch of wreckage into the last two sections to be removed from the waters between St. Simons and Jekyll Islands
- the previous six cuts have taken anywhere from eight days to eight weeks
A cutting chain began the final cut up through the half-submerged remains of the wreckage at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, powered by the towering VB 10,000 crane vessel’s system of winches, sturdy rigging, and pulleys, says an article on Brunswick News.
Final cut begins
The chain will turn the remaining stretch of wreckage into the last two sections to be removed from the waters between St. Simons and Jekyll Islands. The cutting chain will separate those remains into the gargantuan chunks of steel known to salvors as Section 4 and Section 5.
Maintenance
The VB 10,000 had spent the past week a short distance from the shipwreck, undergoing inspections and maintenance of its rigging, lifting blocks, and the giant pulleys that guide the cutting chain. The crane vessel navigated into the position astride the shipwreck Sunday.
Path of cut
The previous six cuts have taken anywhere from eight days to eight weeks. Salvors are optimistic this final cut could be closer to the former than the latter. The path of this cut appears similar to that of the most recent cut. The VB 10,000 achieved separation of Section 6 on July 30 after eight days of cutting, Himes said.
Same cutting process
“This final cut signifies a cutting process that has been proven over the course of six previous cuts, where we encountered certain challenges that caused us to adapt and modify our system,” he said. “But the methods we’ve used haven’t changed.”
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Source: Brunswick News
