Oil discharge up as Golden Ray cutting progresses

Cleanup crews work to contain flow in St. Simons Sound.

Oil began leaking Thursday from the shipwrecked Golden Ray and into the St. Simons Sound, viewed by experts as a sad inevitability as work progressed to cut free the vessel’s engine section.

A large flotilla of oil cleanup crews has been spread out in formation on the waters surrounding the shipwreck, aligning with the currents to capture oil that leaks, said U.S. Coast Guardsman Michael Himes, spokesman for Unified Command.

At least 17 oil pollution response vessels were on the water throughout the day Thursday and Friday. Trained crews on the boats combated the emissions with oil skimmers, oil booms and current busters, a V-shaped vessel that steers floating fuels to an apex for collection, Himes said.

Himes said most of the oil has been contained within the environmental protection barrier, a 1-mile perimeter structure made up of sturdy mesh netting underwater and oil containment boom floating on the surface. However, some globules of oil and fuel sheen have been swept beyond the EPB.

Cleanup crews are working inside and outside the EPB, he said. Spotters in overhead helicopters keep an eye out for leaks and help direct the vessels below.

About 400 people are taking part in cleanup efforts, including the folks who regularly patrol area shorelines for debris and pollution, Himes said.

“We are seeing a discharge,” Himes said. “We’re seeing a sheen inside the EPB and we’re seeing sheen and oil globules outside the EPB. Multiple strategies are at work.”

The 255-foot-tall VB 10,000 resumed cutting on the engine section early Thursday following a nineday pause to rewire the rigging system that connects the crane vessel’s winches to the cutting chain.

This is the third cut into the shipwreck.

Recent oil discharges have not reached the level encountered in late December during the cutting of the stern section, Himes said. Crews had to corral several large floating clouds of oil from the sound during that operation, towing current busters into place with boats to catch the escaping pollutants.

“What we saw (Thursday) was not significant as during the (stern section) lift,” Himes said. “I would say what we saw yesterday was less than what we expected.”

What could be expected next is what troubles Fletcher Sams. The executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper said he detected oil globules and fuel sheen in the waters outside the 200yard safety zone established around the EPB.

“There’s a lot of product on the water today,” said Sams, who toured the area in the riverkeeper’s observation boat Friday.

ST. SIMONS SOUND INCIDENT RESPONSE As workers continue to cut apart the shipwrecked Golden Ray and remove its parts, cleanup crews continually monitor and work to contain oil that leaks into the water from the operation.