24 January 2021: Sorry for the delay - time just got away from us and the weekly update quite escaped us! We've kind of been focused on the goings on in New Zealand (America's Cup and the problems experienced by the US NYYC team following their disastrous capsize) and the Vendee Globe race for which we hope to be able to report the finish in our next post - they're getting close now.
But here we are now and with some amazing pictures of the salvage operation on the Golden Ray car carrier capsized in Georgia (USA). This is a monumental project and the pictures, we think, are staggering, showing the immense scope of the project. Following from Car and Driver magazine.
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The saga of the Golden Ray continues. Once a simple cargo ship plying the seas, the 656-foot-long vessel made the news in September 2019 when it capsized off the coast of Georgia near Saint Simons Sound with around 4200 new vehicles on board. It’s been sitting on the shallow ocean bed since then while plans to extract the ship and its contents from the scene were developed and, now, finally, implemented.
That’s why, all through November, salvage workers were getting ready to slice the ship into eight smaller pieces in order to move them back to shore. A giant chain powered by two large engines made the first cut through the keel this weekend. This work required a giant piece of equipment called the Versabar VB 10,000 crane vessel that was first built a decade ago to help with oil rigs damaged in hurricanes.
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As the salvage of the Golden Ray cargo ship continues off the coast of Georgia, workers on the night of January 2 completed the operation to separate the stern from the rest of the ship. Next they'll load it into a "specially devised cradle" on a barge deck and haul it off to a recycling facility in Louisiana, the local Brunswick News reported on Sunday. In the end, the 656-foot-long ship will have been cut into eight pieces, the paper said. Meanwhile, there are some 30 vessels out patrolling the waters around the capsized ship on the lookout for oil leaks and other environmental issues, while an "environmental protection barrier" around the ship has mesh netting underneath it to catch loose vehicles—and vehicle parts—that drop out of the wreck. "Plastic debris and car parts from plastic pumps to wheel panels also were seen washing up on shore," the Brunswick News noted.
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So, if you are in the market for a car and don't mind a bit of water damage (a bit?) and can do a little cleaning up, we might have a deal for you! Please note that some of the vehicles might be a bit bent!
Until next time, when we hope to bring you the finish of the Vendee Globe Race, stay safe.
Fair winds,
Old Salt
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