M/V Golden Ray Salvage: One of Final Two Sections Removed

Responders removed Section Five of the Golden Ray wreck on Sunday. One section of the wreck remains inside the Environmental Protection Barrier.

Wreck removal personnel lifted and secured Section Five of the Golden Ray wreck onto a dry-dock barge on Saturday and tug crews transited the barge to Mayor’s Point Terminal on Sunday. After inspection by the response engineering team, the section will be staged for partial dismantling at a local response facility.

“We are very proud of the tremendous effort to maintain safety by each member of the response team throughout the entire operation to lift and remove Section Five of the wreck,” said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Efren Lopez, federal on-scene coordinator. “Even with the end of the wreck removal phase of this response in sight, we continue to prudently execute our safety, environmental protection and port function priorities.”

Crews aboard the VB-10000 heavy lift vessel began a maintenance period on Sunday in preparation for subsequent lifting operations. Prior to lifting Section Four, the final section of the wreck, two previously removed sections will be transloaded from dry-dock barges to the Barge Julie B by the VB-10000 and secured for transit to a recycling facility in Louisiana.

Several response vessels monitor the wreck site on Saturday during operations to lift Section Five of the Golden Ray wreck onto a dry-dock barge. Each vessel is equipped with personnel and equipment ready recover any potential debris or oil. St. Simons Sound Incident response photo.

Members of the response engineering team observe operations to lift Section Five of the Golden Ray wreck onto a dry-dock barge. The engineering team modified a cradle system using 3D modeling tools following a visual analysis by the Salvage Master during a test lift on Sep. 10. St. Simons Sound Incident response photo.

The Salvage Master surveys the orientation of the underside of Section Five and the cradle system during a pause in lifting operations on Saturday. St. Simons Sound Incident response photo.

A welder cuts notches into the bilge keel along the hull-side of Section Five on Saturday in order to accommodate the support stanchions in the cradle system and ensure the section is secure for transit. St. Simons Sound Incident response photo.

The tugs Crosby Star, Caitlin and Kurt J. Crosby assist a dry-dock barge loaded with Section Five of the Golden Ray wreck to a local facility near Mayor’s Point Terminal on Sunday. One section of the wreck remains. St. Simons Sound Incident response photo.

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