The Unified Command for the St. Simons Sound Incident Response hosted a briefing Thursday to share information on the next steps of the removal of the Golden Ray.
The command said that shipping containers filled with concrete are being used to prevent erosion, also known as scouring, are and lodged between the hull of the ship and seafloor.
Netting is also being used to catch large debris from leaving the area.
Back in February, the Golden Ray's previous salvage team claimed cutting the ship into large pieces could cause an environmental catastrophe.
“Maximize safety for responders and public...full removal of golden ray and pollution threats,” said Coordinator Witt during the press conference, outlining his mission for the removal of the ship.
The Unified Command completed the oil pumping of all accessible tanks from the M/V Golden Ray back in December. Salvage workers and divers gained access to 26 fuel tanks inside the Golden Ray and more than 320,000 gallons of oil and water mixture were removed.
To improve the stability of the wreck, Unified Command also removed a portion of the vessel’s propeller, propeller shaft and rudder, which weighed a total of approximately 130 tons.
The Golden Ray was a 'Vehicles Carrier' registered and sailed under the flag of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific, according to VesselTracking.net.
The 656-foot, 71,000-ton vehicle carrier vessel overturned in September of 2019 due to a listing issue and has been sitting in the St. Simon's Sound ever since.