Crews Assess Fire Damage To Capsized Ship Golden Ray

Caption

Response engineers begin initial assessments of the Golden Ray wreck and wreck removal equipment on Saturday, May 15, 2021, following a fire inside the wreck on Friday.

Credit: St. Simons Incident Response photo

Crews are evaluating the damage to the capsized cargo ship in the St. Simons Sound after a massive fire broke out Friday.

The process of cutting up the Golden Ray is on hold while responders check what damage the fire caused and make sure it’s safe for the workers. The assessment is expected to take several weeks.

Officials aren’t yet certain what caused the fire. It is under investigation.

Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Jeremiah Winston said Monday it could have been the large torches they’re using to pre-cut parts of the ship for the massive cutting chain.

“Obviously there was a good lessons learned here on what can happen, and we certainly are gonna be making changes for future cutting operations,” he said.

One possible solution: drilling into the hull and spraying fire suppressant so the torches don’t set off a blaze.

Responders got the fire under control Friday evening. No personnel were injured.

After the fire, the environmental unit increased water quality monitoring near the wreck but has not detected any hazardous particulate matter, according to the response team.

The Golden Ray capsized in September 2019 on its way out of the Port of Brunswick with about 4,200 cars on board. Crews were in the monthlong process of cutting it apart and removing it from the sound when the fire occurred.