The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4 missing after cargo ship capsizes off Georgia coast
The U.S. Coast Guard searched Sunday for four crew members after a vehicle carrier ship caught fire and capsized early in the morning in the St. Simons Sound near Brunswick.
The M/V Golden Ray, a 656foot vehicle carrier that departed the Brunswick port about 1 a.m. Sunday, suffered a fire on board. About 2 a.m., emergency responders, including the Coast Guard, were notified that the ship had capsized in the sound off the shore of St. Simons Island.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
Twenty people, including the Brunswick-based pilot, were accounted for and safely off the vessel, said Griff Lynch, the executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, which operates the Brunswick port. The Brunswick port is a bustling automotive terminal for import and export vehicles.
All channel traffic was suspended Sunday, Lynch said. The cargo ship was on its side
and visible from the pier on St. Simons Island.
The Coast Guard responded with two station boats from Brunswick, two MH-65 Dolphin heli
copter crews from Savannah, the Cutter Heron and marine safety
and engineering teams, according to a Coast Guard news release.
“The Coast Guard will lead the investigation to determine what transpired,” Lynch said. “It was not an obstruction in the river or anything like that. It appears to be a vessel issue and solely a vessel issue. We are sure it didn’t hit anything.”
The vessel had approximately 4,200 vehicles on board, he said.
Though much is not known about the incident, Lynch said, “it seems to have to been a stability issue on the vessel.”
The Golden Ray, which is registered out of the Marshall Islands, arrived in Brunswick on Saturday evening and off-loaded “a couple hundred” vehicles and about 300 vehicles were loaded onto the ship, Lynch said.
The vessel departed Brunswick for a scheduled visit to Baltimore and from there was to travel to the Middle East, Lynch said.
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.
The Coast Guard said it had established a safety perimeter around the vessel and no watercraft were permitted within a half-mile.
According to vesselfinder. com, the Golden Ray was built in 2017.
The state Department of Natural Resources, Brunswick Bar Pilots Association, the Glynn County Fire Department, Moran Towing and SeaTow were assisting the Coast Guard in the rescue effort.
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Capt. John Reed, commander of Coast Guard Sector Charleston, said that “flames have gone out, and the black smoke has ceased,” but that officials could not confirm the fire was extinguished until they could get inside the ship.
“Once salvage professionals have determined the vessel to be stable, we will identify the best option to continue our rescue efforts for the four crew remembers who remain on board,” Reed said.
It’s unclear how much fuel might be aboard the Golden Ray. The Department of Natural Resources said in a news release it deployed an emergency spill crew and was monitoring the situation.
Cap Fendig, a local tour boat operator and distant relative of Brunswick harbor pilots, said his boats were part of a massive multi-agency
Capt. John Reed, commander of Coast Guard Sector Charleston, said that ‘flames have gone out, and the black smoke has ceased,’ but that officials could not confirm the fire was extinguished until they could get inside the ship.
response to the incident.
The area of the channel where the Golden Ray capsized was charted by the British in the late 1700s, he said.
“It’s really not changed in width or depth in a couple hundred years,” Fendig said. “It was a port of entry declared by George Washington.”
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. That bridge was replaced about 16 years ago by the new Sidney Lanier Bridge.