A public hearing in the investigation of the Golden Ray, the capsized car carrier in St. Simons Sound, is set to begin on Monday. The massive cargo ship has remained partially submerged on its side since Sept. 8, 2019, when it ran aground just after leaving the Port of Brunswick.
Operations to cut the vessel in pieces and remove it and its cargo of about 4,200 vehicles from the waterway have been suspended until the first week of October.
The hearing, conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board, Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal; will be broadcast live and recorded.
The Golden Ray, built in 2017, sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands and is owned by Hyundai Glovis, the shipping division of Hyundai based in Seoul, South Korea.
“The purpose of this investigation is to determine the cause of this incident so that similar incidents may be prevented in the future,” said Coast Guard lead investigating officer Capt. Blake Welborn, of the 8th district in New Orleans, during a press briefing on Friday.
The public hearing is only one element of the formal investigation process and is not part of the ongoing operations to remove the vessel, said Welborn. He could not give a time frame for when the full investigation and report would be completed.
Officials began interviewing crew members immediately after the incident and have continued consulting with tech specialists in vessel construction and port operations to help them understand what happened, Welborn said. Some of that information has already been uncovered in the past year and will be shared in the public hearing.
Over the course of seven days, the hearing will present evidence and findings related to a range of factors including the cause of accident, the adequacy of the response, the vessel safety management system and any misconduct, negligence or violation of the law that may have contributed to the casualty, Welborn said.
However, the hearing is designed primarily to uncover lessons that can be learned to promote safety at sea, not to assign civil or criminal responsibility.
In addition to crew members, the ship master and members of the team who rescued the trapped crew members, local and international experts are expected to discuss everything from specific characteristics of the Port of Brunswick to the impact waves and currents may have had on the vessel.
Welborn said he hopes the cause of the incident will become clear to members of the public as the hearing takes place over the next week but noted that the most important goal is not just to tell the story of the Golden Ray but to prevent similar accidents from happening again in the future.
Members of the public are invited to watch each day beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST at https://livestream.com/uscginvestigations and can ask questions or leave comments related to the investigation via email at USCGGoldenRay@gmail.com.
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