[WRE | SPOTLIGHT]
VERSABAR VB-10,000 HEAVY LIFT VESSEL SLATED TO SUPPORT GOLDEN RAY SALVAGE EFFORT
BY: MIKE SCHMIDT
U.S. Coast Guard, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Gallagher Marine Systems. Te Unified Command’s operational priorities are ensuring the safety of the public and responders, protecting wildlife and the environment, ensuring economical activities in the area are minimally affected, and the eventual salvage and safe removal of the vessel.
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Not long after midnight on the morning of Saturday, September 8, 2019, M/V Golden Ray, a Roll-on Roll- off (or “RoRo”) Vehicle Carrier built in 2017, departed the Port of Brunswick in Georgia bound for Baltimore with more than 4,000 vehicles aboard. It didn’t get far. As the vessel maneuvered through
the St. Simon’s Sound, it was entering a starboard turn and became noticeably unstable. It listed to starboard, but eventually rebounded before rolling completely over on its port side.
ONE MAN MAKES A DIFFERENCE Quick thinking harbor pilot Jonathan “J.T.” Tennant of the Brunswick Bar Harbor Pilots Association is credited with having run the ship aground on a sandbar outside the main
channel – clearing the channel for an inbound vessel, and later allowing resumption of shipping activity in the port. He was also instrumental in coordinating the immediate rescue efforts of the 24 crew members on board.
Te rescue became more dramatic, as four of the crew otherwise unable to escape were cut out of the engine room some 30 hours later. Te crew were hosted by the International Seafarer’s Center in Brunswick, and the local community donated clothing to the stranded mariners.
As attention shifted to salvage, extensive work was undertaken through the balance of 2019, including:
• Lidar imaging of the cargo hold to produce a 3-D images of inaccessible areas of the ship.
• Installation of a rock blanket around the hull to impede erosion, using sonar and GPS to ensure accurate and effective placement of the 1 to 3-inch aggregate.
• Lightering of fuel from 26 accessible tanks on the vessel, some of which were submerged and could only be reached by rappelling and conducting dive operations inside the wreck.
• Removal of the ruder, propeller and propeller shaft, about 130 tons in all, relieving stresses to the hull.
But that still leaves a 656-foot long ship and its cargo half-submerged on its side to be dealt with.
Responders with the Unified Command reposition boom. The barrier boom is maintained daily due to strong currents in the sound and skimming teams are conducting surface clean-up to recover oil product.
28 MARCH–APRIL 2020 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE EVERYTHING MUST GO
On February 5th of this year, Unified Command, in coordination with the owners of the Golden Ray, announced that they had developed a plan and received permits for the construction of an environmental
ire Rope Exchange compiled this report from Unified Command releases and summary review of a wide range of press accounts. Te Unified Command for the St. Simons Sound Incident Response consists of the
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