Golden Ray wreck removal completed

Environmental protection 

T&T Salvage project manager and naval architect Matthew Cooke said there was “a lot of welding and fabrication work” on the wreck, which had a 10° list, in preparation for the cutting and lifting.  

An environmental protection barrier (EPB) was erected around the wreck site “to mitigate pollution of floating oil, vehicle cargo and debris from the wreck.”  

This EPB was positioned in a diamond formation with the piles into the seabed and a mesh “enabling marine life to go through while stopping cars getting out of the site,” said Mr Cooke. 

“There was a floating protection boom to retain hydrocarbons and scour protection around the piles.” There were also gates to the north and south of the EPB to allow vessels and barges into and out of the site. 

Wreck removal involved cutting the hull seven times using a chain and then lifting the eight sections. They were loaded on to the drydock barge and transported to the local facility, near Mayor’s Point Terminal. Derrick barge Thor broke up remaining parts of the wreck into smaller 200-tonne to 500-tonne pieces before they were transloaded onto container barges and shipped to Louisiana for scrapping. 

Tugs were heavily involved in the barge transport and lifting operations. Crosby Star, Caitlin and Kurt J Crosby assisted a drydock barge loaded with sections to a local facility and tugs helped to transfer sections on to Crowley’s Julie B and towed it to Louisiana. 

Overcoming challenges 

Mr Cooke said the tidal range and currents meant scour protection, using embedded containers with rock inside, was needed around the EPB piles and “around the bow and stern of the wreck to prevent more keel over.” 

Once this was in place, a liftboat with a drilling unit was brought in to horizontally drill five tunnels below the wreck to thread the cutting chain through. 

“We used 3-inch anchor chain for cutting but had to increase the grade as we saw wear on the chain,” said Mr Cooke. 

To overcome challenges from the Covid pandemic the salvage team was split into three tiers of importance. Tier 1 were the critical positions and had the strictest social distancing rules. Tier 2 were the tug and salvage crews and tier 3 were the support teams.  

T&T Salvage hired accommodation for these teams and prevented social interaction between tiers to reduce the risk of infections, particularly in the tier 1 personnel, said Mr Cooke. 

Q4 2021 work 

In October and November 2021, wreck removal teams and a flotilla of small vessels continued to recover debris from inside the EPB, which will be dismantled and removed when all work is completed. 

On 11 November, UC said personnel had recovered 151 vehicles and 15 partial decks during operations to clear wreck debris and scour mitigation measures from inside the EPB. Additional equipment, including a 176-tonne hydraulic grab, was mobilised inside the EPB to recover larger sunken pieces of the wreck.  

Engineering teams conducted hydrographic surveys using sonar each week to assist the debris removal process. Survey analysis confirmed there was no debris along the seafloor outside of the barrier. 

Engineers used Edgetech 6205 side-scanning and CodaOctopus Echoscope multi-dimensional sonar equipment to map and monitor the seafloor weekly throughout the Golden Ray removal process. 

Outside the EPB 

Around the EPB there was a 137-m safety zone, which was increased to 183 m for any non-response vessel transiting outside the shipping channel.  

UC developed a multi-layer approach for observing, surveying, documenting and mitigating any release of oil or debris during cutting and lifting operations.  

Recovery personnel were stationed at the EPB, at the shoreline and on the water around the Golden Ray wreck. On-water response teams maintained a 24-hour watch around the shipwreck and deployed prestaged equipment and personnel to mitigate any oil discharges, sheens and debris observed.  

Survey teams continued to recover debris along 161 km of shorelines and marsh areas in the vicinity of the wreck site. All debris is sorted, catalogued and disposed of according to the response debris plan.  

Responders evaluated, surveyed and recovered any reported shipwreck debris in addition to their daily surveys of the water and the shoreline. 

Wildlife assessment teams continued to survey marsh areas and beaches throughout St Simons Sound for any potential wildlife impact. Personnel also continued to measure air quality in the community using stationary and mobile air monitoring equipment.