Environmental response teams went into overdrive over the weekend to clean up a “significant discharge of oil” from the Golden Ray shipwreck off Georgia’s coast.
State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials are urging beachgoers to be vigilant while they attempt to clean up after the wreck’s most recent oil leak inside its environmental protection barrier.
“We have all assets deployed and are moving quickly to contain any dense oil which migrated beyond the EPB with the shifting tides,” said Chris Graff of Gallagher Marine Systems, according to a DNR news release. “Our people have trained and equipment is prepared to ensure the protection of the people and environment of St. Simons Sound.”
Graff said shoreline teams are surveying beaches along St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, and clean-up teams are standing by to respond to any affected areas.
The leak occurred as wreckage was being removed from a section of the Golden Ray, a South Korean automobile carrier that capsized on Sept. 8, 2019, shortly after leaving the Port of Brunswick. Demolition work to remove the shipwreck in eight giant chunks began in November. About half the ship remains partially submerged off St. Simons Island.
The ship has been periodically leaking oil ever since it capsized.
Over the weekend, crews deployed oil skimmers, sorbents and other equipment and measures designed to mitigate the latest oil spill, DNR officials said in a news release.
Back in May, a large fire engulfed the wreck while crews were working to demolish the ship. Demolition was about halfway completed when a fire ignited while workers used cutting torches on the hull. No one was injured, but thick smoke poured from the wreck for hours before boats pumping seawater through water cannons extinguished the flames.
Plans for demolishing the Golden Ray have been interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, hurricane seasons and equipment malfunctions.
The DNR’s “Healthy Beaches” map shows Georgia beaches near the oil spill under an advisory issued July 5 that suggests no swimming or wading in the water.
About the Author
