Friday, May 14th

Flames engulf cargo ship's remains off US coast; no injuries

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

Firefighters working off tug boats hose down the remains of the overturned cargo ship Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island south of Savannah, on Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - The remains of an overturned cargo ship being dismantled along the Georgia coast caught fire Friday as workers used torches to cut into the hull, sending up black smoke and causing loud bangs that sounded like explosions.

The multiagency command overseeing demolition of the Golden Ray said in a statement late Friday that crews had put out the fire, which burned for several hours, and would remain on the scene overnight in case the blaze flared up again.

Susan Inman of the Altamaha Riverkeeper conservation group told The Associated Press she could see flames shooting from the open ends and the top of the Golden Ray on Friday afternoon as she watched from a boat about 300 yards (275 meters) away near St. Simons Island. She also heard several loud popping sounds from the shipwreck.

Several hours later, the fire was being sprayed with hoses from the towering crane being used to dismantle the ship as well as at least two boats equipped with water cannons.

Fire fighters spray water into the cut away mid-section of the cargo vessel Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. Crews have used a giant gantry crane to carve the ship into eight giant chunks, then carry each section away by barge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

"It's kind of like a roller coaster where it seems to die down for about 20 minutes or half an hour, and then it picks back up again," Inman said.

No injuries were reported and all demolition crew members near the shipwreck were safely evacuated, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Himes, a spokesman for the multiagency command in charge of the demolition.

Himes said it was too early to know how much the blaze might further delay efforts to remove roughly one-half of the shipwreck that remains partly submerged in St. Simons Sound. Once it's safe for workers to return to the wreck, he said, an engineering analysis will be performed to determine the extent of the fire damage.

Fire fighters spray water into the cut away mid-section of the cargo vessel Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. Crews have used a giant gantry crane to carve the ship into eight giant chunks, then carry each section away by barge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

The South Korean-owned Golden Ray measured 656 feet (199 meters) long when it overturned on Sept. 8, 2019. A towering crane that straddles the wreck is cutting the ship into giant chunks using 400 feet (122 meters) of anchor chain to tear through the hull like a blunt-edged saw.

An active 2020 hurricane season and the coronavirus pandemic kept demolition from starting until November. Though the job reached the halfway mark in April, progress has been slower than initially expected.

Himes said flames flared up inside the wreck Friday afternoon as workers used torches to make cuts along the ship's hull to serve as a guide path for the cutting chain.

"It is considerable at this time. It picked up very quickly," Himes said of the blaze. "The good news is, because we planned for fires and we planned for the need to evacuate in the case of those fires, all of our crews are accounted for."

Smoke pours out of the hull of the Golden Ray cargo ship as firefighters hose down the remains of the overturned vessel, Friday, May 14, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Himes said the fire was likely sparked by one of the cutting torches, even though crews were pumping sea water onto the ship as a fire suppression measure. He didn't know what was fueling the blaze, but said it's possibly residual fuel still aboard the ship as well as cars that remain inside its cargo decks.

The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it rolled onto its side shortly after leaving the nearby Port of Brunswick. Though four crew members had to be rescued from deep inside the ship, all 24 people on board survived.

A Coast Guard expert concluded the Golden Ray tipped over because unstable loading had left its center of gravity too high. Lt. Ian Oviatt testified at a hearing on the wreck last year that the ship lacked enough water in its ballast tanks, used to add weight at the bottom of a vessel, to offset that of the vehicles in its cargo decks above.

In this photo provided by the Altamaha Riverkeeper, smoke pours from the remnants of the capsized cargo ship Golden Ray on Friday, May 14, 2021, off St. Simons Island, Ga. Crews have spent months dismantling the ship in gigantic chunks after it overturned in September 2019. (Susan Inman/Altamaha Riverkeeper via AP)

Firefighters working from the towering crane being used to dismantle the ship, hose down a fire in the overturned cargo ship Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Firefighters working off two tug boats hose down the remains of the overturned cargo ship Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island south of Savannah on Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Firefighters working from the towering crane being used to dismantle the ship, hose down a fire in the overturned cargo ship Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Himes says there have been no injuries and all demolition crew members were safely evacuated. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Fire fighters spray water into the cut away mid-section of the cargo vessel Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. Crews have used a giant gantry crane to carve the ship into eight giant chunks, then carry each section away by barge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Fire fighters spray water into the cut away mid-section of the cargo vessel Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island on Sept. 8, 2019. Crews have used a giant gantry crane to carve the ship into eight giant chunks, then carry each section away by barge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Residents watch firefighters hose down the hull of the overturned cargo ship Golden Ray, Friday, May 14, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. The Golden Ray had roughly 4,200 vehicles in its cargo decks when it capsized off St. Simons Island south of Savannah, on Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)