The U.S. Coast Guard says it doesn’t know how long it will take to remove a large cargo ship from its sideways position just off the Georgia coast. But it likely won’t be a fast process.
“It is not going to be quick,” Cmdr. Norm Witt of the Marine Safety Unit in Savannah said late Tuesday. “We’re going to measure this in weeks, possibly months, as opposed to hours and days.”
And that has environmental advocates concerned. One group, the Altamaha Riverkeeper, fears the gasoline fumes in the air and contaminants in the water have already hurt wildlife despite a massive salvage and clean-up cleanup operation.
“We appreciate the work, and they’re working hard,” Susan Inman with the Altamaha Riverkeeper told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “But the containment isn’t working, so we need to change things up.”
RELATED: All 4 crew members rescued from capsized ship
The ship, which is 656 feet long and weighs 71,000 tons, departed the Brunswick port bound for Baltimore about 1 a.m. Sunday. There was soon a fire on board. About 2 a.m., emergency responders, including the Coast Guard, were notified that the ship had capsized in St. Simons Sound off the shore of St. Simons Island.
The Golden Ray had 24 people aboard — 23 crew members and a pilot — along with 4,200 vehicles. Twenty people were rescued quickly, but the other four could not immediately make their way off.
Rescue teams tapped on the ship’s metal and eventually heard taps back, indicating the four trapped aboard were still alive. It took several hours Monday, but all four crew members were extracted. All were in remarkably good condition, the Coast Guard said.
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Investigators have not yet determined what caused the ship to tip. Coast Guard Capt. John Reed has said the Golden Ray was making a turn before it capsized.
According to maritime experts, investigators will be looking for shifting cargo or other problems that upset the giant vessel’s balance enough to make it fall onto its side.
“There’s a lot of different things that could have happened here,” said Jim Staples, who worked 17 years as a captain aboard vehicle carriers similar to the Golden Ray and is now a maritime consultant. “We definitely know there’s a stability problem with the ship somewhere.”
In addition to investigating the cause of the incident, the focus has moved to removing the ship and debris it spilled, the Coast Guard said. Details on the cleanup process have not been publicly released. The Coast Guard made no public statements Wednesday about the ongoing work.
“Obviously our No. 1 priority is safety, public safety and safety for first responders, potential environmental impacts that we’re attempting to mitigate, and there’s also some very real concerns on economic impact,” Witt said. “Again, we’re trying to mitigate those as best we can.”
Investigators have not yet determined what caused the ship to tip. Coast Guard Capt. John Reed has said the Golden Ray was making a turn before it capsized.
The shipping channel could re-open as early Thursday, the Coast Guard said. But Witt cautioned that was an aggressive goal.
A variety of agencies, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, are assisting with the operation, the Coast Guard said. There is pollution, but it is limited in scope, Witt said.
The shipping channel could reopen as early as Thursday, but Witt cautioned that was an aggressive goal. A variety of agencies, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, are assisting with the operation, the Coast Guard said.
Inman worries about the long-term effects, including potential economic impacts for the port and other business owners.
“This is going to be devastating to Glynn County,” she said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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