Environmental barrier built around capsized cargo ship as crews get ready to remove it

ATLANTA — Construction of an environmental barrier is underway around a capsized cargo ship off the Georgia coast.

The Golden Ray overturned in September 2019 near the Port of Brunswick carrying 24 crew members and a cargo of 4,200 cars.

All crew members were rescued, but the cars have remained on board, presenting a “substantial threat of discharge” according to a lawsuit filed this week.

The multiagency command overseeing the wreck removal hopes to start cutting the ship into sections in April.

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A company called Weeks Marine is building an underwater wall that includes sending 80 massive beams down into the sea floor.

A multiagency command said this week it plans to leave the 4,200 automobiles inside the huge sections of the ship that are to be lifted by a giant crane and loaded onto a barge.

Though crews plan to wrap open ends of each chunk with a mesh material to contain debris, some vehicles are expected slip through.

“We do expect that some of the cars will end up in the water as part of the cutting process,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Nate Littlejohn, a spokesman for the multiagency team.

The new environmental barrier is aimed at containing any debris while crews dismantle the ship and eventually remove the ship from the port.

Information for this article is from CNN, The Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Final crew member rescued from overturned cargo ship Earlier in the afternoon, officials said rescuers drilled through the hull of the ship and that all four missing crew members were alive.

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