6,000 tons of rock to stabilize overturned ship in Port of Brunswick

Georgia Ports Authority spokesman Robert Morris said an incident like this is the first of its kind for a vessel at either the Brunswick or Savannah ports.

Rescue teams pull crew members from ship that capsized off Georgia coast

Rescue teams pull crew members from ship that capsized off Georgia coast

Rescue teams pull crew members from ship that capsized off Georgia coast

The M/V Golden Ray, a 656-foot vehicle carrier that departed the Brunswick port about 1 a.m. Sunday, suffered a fire on board. Coast Guard was notified that the ship had capsized in St. Simons Sound off the shore of St. Simons Island.

A tugboat pushes on the capsized ship. The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for four crew members from a vehicle carrier ship that caught fire and capsized early Sunday morning in the St. Simons Sound off the Georgia coast near Brunswick.

United States Coast Guard rescue teams working to access the Golden Ray near St. Simons Sound.

United States Coast Guard rescue teams working to access the Golden Ray near St. Simons Sound.

The capsized ship with Saint Simons in the background.

An oil spill is visible in this Georgia Department of Natural Resources photo. The DNR advised beachgoers to avoid swimming or wading in the waters at St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island until more is known about the environmental impact.

United States Coast Guard rescue teams working to access the Golden Ray near St. Simons Sound.

United States Coast Guard rescue teams working to access the Golden Ray near St. Simons Sound.

The Coast Guard said it has established a safety perimeter around the vessel and no water craft are permitted within a half-mile.

Local boat captain Cap Fendig said Sunday’s incident brought back “haunting memories” of a November 1972 incident in which a cargo vessel struck the former draw bridge in the channel that led to the deaths of 10 people.

The area of the channel where the Golden Ray capsized was charted by the British in the late 1700s. 

According to vesselfinder.com, the Golden Ray was built in 2017.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Truckloads of rocks are being transported to the Georgia coast to stabilize an overturned cargo ship until it can be removed in pieces.

[PHOTOS: Car cargo ship capsizes off Georgia coast]

The joint response team overseeing salvage of the Golden Ray said in a news release that 6,000 tons of rock will be placed along the hull of the ship to slow erosion of sand beneath it caused by the tides off St. Simons Island. The rock is being delivered by trucks from Georgia quarries and will be laid around the ship using barges.

[READ: All crew members rescued from overturned cargo ship]

The vessel overturned Sept. 8 near the Port of Brunswick. Rescuers drilled into the hull and rescued four crewmen trapped in the ship.

Crews plan to haul the ship away in pieces, saying it cannot be safely righted and refloated intact.