ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Preparations are underway to remove the final section of the Golden Ray wreck off in St. Simons Sound.
Section Four is the only remaining section of the cargo ship that wrecked shortly after departing the Port of Brunswick in 2019. Before it can be removed, crews may have to shed weight from Section Four before it is secured into the cradle system to be loaded into a barge.
Last week, the barge Julie B will also carry Section Three and Section Six to a Louisiana recycling facility in the coming days. The barge is 400 feet long and can carry loads of up to 4,200 pounds.
At this time, the 150-yard safety zone around the environmental protection barrier has been extended to 200 yards to any non-response vessel outside the shipping channel. Drones may also not be flown around the area as well.
Onshore, survey teams are continuing work to recover debris, which is cataloged and disposed of according to the response debris plan. Anyone who finds debris from the Golden Ray is urged to call the Debris Reporting Hotline at (912) 944-5620.
Despite previous oil spills, crews have seen only a few oiled wildlife in the past month. Crews are monitoring the area around the wreck to mitigate any oil discharges, sheens or debris if anything happens.
The beaches are open to the public.