White smoke was seen coming out of the Golden Ray cargo ship in Georgia Sunday morning, according to the Unified Command.
The Unified Command said they were notified of the smoke around 8:30 a.m.
They are currently monitoring the situation with air and ground teams to learn further information.
Air quality at the site of the Golden Ray and the surrounding area is also being monitored by the command.
"About a third of the way to the bow, there was a white mist over the boat, the whole boat," witness Dennis Williams told First Coast News.
The mist was water, sprayed by crews on salvage boats on the underside of the ship. Sue Inman, a member of the Altamaha Riverkeeper group, said water was being sprayed on the boat to cool it down and allow crews to walk on it.
"All we know is it takes two things to cause a fire: something to cause the spark, and also your contaminate that could also catch on fire," Inman said.
More than 225,000 gallons of fuel have been removed from the Golden Ray since it overturned. Inman said there is still fuel left on board though.
"There's still a lot left, and that includes everything from all the vehicles that are still inside, because remember this is a roll-on roll-off cargo ship, which means you drive the cars on and you drive them off," Iman said. "Which means they need gas, they need oil and all the other fuel to operate the vehicle."
The Unified Command has not yet confirmed the cause of the smoke.
The Unified Command is composed of the U.S. Coast Guard, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Gallagher Marine Systems.
The Golden Ray cargo shop overturned in St. Simons Island on Sept. 8. Plans were in the works to have the ship disassembled and removed from the sound.
RELATED: Experts worldwide gather to disassemble the Golden Ray cargo ship for removal from St. Simons Sound
Stay with First Coast News as this story develops.
