Photo: U.S. Coast Guard
Golden Ray still stuck, but Port of Brunswick may open on Thursday
The Port of Brunswick, closed since Sunday when a massive cargo ship capsized in St. Simons Sound, may open at noon on Thursday.
The U.S. Coast Guard allowed two vessels that had been docked in the Port of Brunswick to depart late Wednesday afternoon as officials monitored any impacts their passage might have on the stranded Golden Ray, freightwaves.com reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Gallagher Marine Systems, a company that represents the shipping company that operates the Golden Ray, were all watching this afternoon as two large ships, including another car carrier, cruised by the Golden Ray, according to the report.
Representatives from the local International Longshoremen’s Association union told Jacksonville television news station Action News Jax that the Port of Brunswick was scheduled to reopen at noon on Sept. 12.
The Golden Ray
The Golden Ray is roughly 600-foot-long cargo ship that was laden with 4,200 vehicle when it capsized in St. Simons Sound early Sunday morning. The cargo vessel is used by Hyundai Glovis to transport Kia, Hyundai and other vehicles. The ship was built in 2017. It flies under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
Photo: U.S. Coast guard
It took Coast Guard, salvage company heroics to extract trapped Golden Ray crew
U.S. Coast Guard crews and a special salvage company team used their training and expertise to extract four Golden Ray cargo ship crew members from the capsized vessel.
The massive ship, tipped on its side since Sunday, had been baking in the sun for some 36 hours when the Defiant Marine Inc. salvage company team and Coast Guard crews began drilling small holes in the ship's hull to begin communicating with the trapped crew members, according to ABC News. Defiant Marine is based in Rutherford County, N.C., between the cities of Charlotte to the east and Asheville to the west.
The temperature outside as the rescuers worked was 120 degrees, and oven-hot air escaped the small holes, according to the report. A bigger hole was drilled, and two of the crew members climbed out.
That's when Sean Cogan of Elevated Safety, a Chicago-based company that trains people to safely work off the ground with ropes and rappelling, swung into action, according to ABC News. He and other rescuers dropped into the ship to remove a third crew member. The fourth and final crew member climbed up from a ladder.
Golden Ray in Dismay
The Golden Ray in Dismay
Here's a look at how events unfolded in the early hours of Sunday, Sept. 8, the day the massive Golden Ray cargo ship capsized in St. Simons Sound. The incident remains under investigation.
Leaving port
The Golden Ray departed its dock in Brunswick shortly after midnight, according to reports. The weather was calm. The ship had only been underway 23 minutes when it stopped where it capsized, according to satellite data recorded by Marine Traffic. The Golden Ray was passed by another ship heading into port about that time.
A fire erupts
A spokesman from Hyundai Glovis, the company that uses the Golden Ray to transport cars, told the Wall Street Journal that a fire sparked inside the ship and could not be controlled, then the ship capsized. The same newspaper report quoted an expert as saying that cargo instability is the most common cause of a cargo ship capsizing.
Rescue crews swing into motion
A 911 call at 2 a.m. on Sunday notified U.S. Coast Guard officials that the Golden Ray was in distress, according to reports. Nineteen crew members, South Koreans and Filipinos, and one ship pilot from Brunswick, were aboard. Four of those aboard were trapped inside and required help from U.S. Coast Guard and salvage crews to be extracted. The others were either plucked from the ship by helicopter or climbed down ropes and hoses to rescue boats. Most of the crew members were taken to the nonprofit International Seafarers Center in Brunswick for care.
Eyes on environmental hazards
There have been no reports of oil slicks in the vicinity of the Golden Ray, but officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are closely monitoring the situation.
International Seafarers Center
Annual ISC fundraiser set for Sept. 27
The annual International Night out, an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit International Seafarers Center, is set for Sept. 27 at the Sea Palms Resort & Conference Center.
The Newcast Street center serves the commercial shipping industry's frontline workers, the seafarers, who often face difficult work conditions. The seafarers lack access to creature comforts and spend months away from their families. The Port of Brunswick sees more than 16,000 seafarer visits annually, according to the center, and that number is increasing. The center aims to aid seafarers by offering everything from free clothing and recreational services to free wireless internet service and a range of medical treatment options.
Attendees of the International Night Out will sample a delicious array of food and wines will dancing the night away to the strains of Stan Walker and the Coastal Empire Orchestra , as well as Ernie Elaum. There will be both a live auction and a silent auction featuring an array of items.
International Night Out
The 10th Annual International Night Out is set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 27 at the Sea Palms Resort & Conference Center. Tickets cost $110 per person and are limited. The event includes music, food and more.