Section seven of wrecked car carrier Golden Ray has finally been separated from the rest of the vessel, marking the fourth of eight sections to be “sliced off” the body of the vessel, which capsized in St Simon’s Sound, Brunswick, Georgia, USA in September 2019.
The St Simons Sound Response team said that cutting operations to separate Section Seven concluded on April 24th.
The section had proven considerably harder to split off than previous sections because separating it entailed slicing through parts of the engine room. There had also been a build-up of sediment.
Wreck removal personnel will prepare the section for lifting operations by removing vehicles, moveable decks and sediment, similarly to previous weight-shedding operations.
As was the case with sections One, Two and Eight, section Seven will be loaded onto a barge and secured for transit to a facility at the Georgia Port Authority’s Mayor’s Point Terminal to undergo sea-fastening. It will then be towed to Louisiana for break-up.
Collected data from fixed monitors and hydrographic surveys has confirmed that the remaining wreck of the Golden Ray was stable.
A 150-yard safety zone around the Environmental Protection Barrier has been increased to 200 yards for recreational vessels. The Unified Command has advised mariners to steer clear of the perimeter to ensure the safety of responders and the public.
On-water response teams continued to mitigate oil sheens and debris observed around the wreck site.