Debris beach patrols find fulfillment in shipwreck cleanup

May 1—Sometimes the junk that washes up on our shores from the shipwrecked Golden Ray is so obvious you can see it in from high overhead.

More often than not the rubbish cast off from that half-submerged scrap heap in the St. Simons Sound is imperceptible, hidden beside the footprints left behind on the sandy beaches.

The size of the shipwreck's refuse does not matter to folks like Jerome Chen and Amber Graff. They are on a mission, committed to removing every last speck of trash that threatens marine habitat as a result of the Sept. 8, 2019 shipwreck.

Strolling along the line of marsh wrack left by high tide along the beach on St. Simons Island Friday morning, Graff stopped in her tracks. The 28-year-old California native sifted gently with her foot through a pile of soggy clump of spartina marsh grass. Then she bent down and brushed away a smaller section of grass with a gloved hand.

She pulled up a piece of black rubber about the size of a half dollar.

"It looks burnt," Graff said, holding it up to her eye and inspecting it. "It could have come from the engine room, but it may be a car part."

The 656-foot-long Golden Ray carried a cargo of 4,200 vehicles when it capsized in the sound between Jekyll and St. Simons islands.

After three challenging months, salvors on the towering VB 10,000 crane vessel completed the cutting and removal of the shipwreck's steel reinforced engine section this past week. The engine section was the fourth piece removed from the shipwreck, leaving four more pieces before it is gone.

"Our work is usually on the uptick after a cut is made," Graff explained. "There's more debris."

From beneath a pile of washed-up marsh grasses a few feet ahead of Graff, Chen pulled up a handkerchief-sized sheet of white plastic.

"This came from a car," said Chen, 37.

Nothing about the appearance of Chen and Graff blended with the beachgoers on this sunny Friday morning beneath the blue sky. A chief petty officer, Chen was decked out in standard U.S. Coast Guard blues. A marine biologist and tech leader for Unified Command's Gallagher Marine Systems, Graff's long blond hair fell from the sides of a ball cap and rested on the shoulders of a long sleeve shirt that matched her long pants.

"Skin cancer runs in the family," she said. "I get told by a lot of people that I have on the wrong beach clothes. But I love the beach."

They are joined on this day by USCG Lt. Demetrios Wiener, 32, and USCG Chief Petty Officer Joseph Wilson, 40. Weiner and Wilson also don Coast Guard blues with long pants. The four comprised one of six Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Teams (SCAT) combing area shorelines Friday for local trash created by the Golden Ray shipwreck. In a helicopter overhead, SCAT spotter Ray McKelvey often detects the big vehicle parts and other larger debris before the ground crews see it. Drones also are used in the search for debris.

The four comprised one of six Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Teams (SCAT) combing area shorelines Friday for trash created by the Golden Ray shipwreck.

In an airplane flying overhead, SCAT spotter Ray McKelvey often detects the big vehicle parts and other larger debris before the ground crews see it.

"They picked up a car bumper already on Jekyll (Island) this morning," Graff said, speaking of a SCAT crew assigned to Jekyll Island. "We're here to stop (shipwreck) debris from going into the ocean, whether it be a car bumper or a little piece of plastic."

The SCAT team is just one layer in the multiple components Unified Command has in place to protect the environment and wildlife of the Golden Isles from the trash, oil and other pollutants that spill from the shipwreck.

The layers include the one-mile perimeter environmental protection barrier that surrounds the shipwreck and the flotilla of vessels that combat oil leaks on the water.

Unified Command consists of the Coast Guard, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Gallagher Marine Systems.

Unified Command's directive is to ensure that the Golden Ray salvage operation adheres to the environmental protection measures established by the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

Teams like the one Graff headed Friday on St. Simons Island can cover up to 18 miles of shoreline in a day one step at a time. All total, SCAT covers 130 linear miles of shoreline in the Golden Isles, from open ocean beaches to environmentally sensitive inland waters.

As of April 20, SCAT teams have collected 2,700 pounds of shipwreck debris. The junk ranges from car bumpers and rearview mirrors to untold scads of little black pieces of plastic.

Graff has come across everything from vehicle bumpers to shipboard signs etched in Korean, the Golden Ray's nation of origin.

"But really, our biggest problem is the microplastics," she said, placing a quarter-sized black plastic chip in her collection.

This conscientious Cal State Fullerton marine biology graduate knows that these bits of plastic can wreak havoc on marine life. Afloat in the ocean, such plastics are often gobbled up by marine life that mistakes them for food.

"A lot of marine life can easily consume these microplastics and that is what's really harmful," Graff said. "Its impact on our ocean is very detrimental."

The 255-foot-tall VB 10,000 and the remaining 300 feet of half-submerged shipwreck loomed larger on the sound as the SCAT crew made its way toward the St. Simons Pier.

Chen reached down and picked up a cigarette butt, another all-too-carelessly and wantonly discarded piece of trash that wreaks havoc on wildlife. Beside it was a plastic vape inhaler. Both pieces of litter went into a separate bag from the shipwreck debris bag.

Graff dropped some chunks from a Styrofoam cooler and a popped party balloon into the same bag.

In addition to shipwreck debris, the SCAT crews also clean up after people. As of April 20, SCAT members have collected 3,200 pounds of discarded junk along the shoreline.

Litter patrol might appear to be mundane work for a Coast Guardsman, but Chen does not see it that way. The Seattle native, previously stationed in his home town, signed on for this task the first chance he got.

"I volunteered for this," Chen said. "I didn't know what the situation would be like there because the Golden Ray was on its side. But they needed help so I volunteered. I joined the Coast Guard mainly because I wanted to protect the environment. Just being able to take part and lessen the impact on this beautiful ecosystem is an honor."

Responding to the Golden Ray shipwreck disaster was the first opportunity for both of these West Coasters to visit America's other side. The experience has been enhanced by the hospitality and encouragement they have encountered in this Coastal Georgia corner of the Atlantic.

Sticking out as they do on their beach patrols, Graff, Chen and other members of SCAT have established friendly bonds with regular beachgoers.

"We pretty much know everybody," Chen said. "They're all very encouraging, and the people of this island are so helpful and welcoming."

"At first they would ask, 'What are you doing?'" Graff said. "And we would say, 'We're looking for car debris.' Now they say, 'I know what you do. We see you every day."

Graff, Chen, Weiner and Wilson continued walking the beach through the morning Friday, pushing beyond the pier and down toward the island's marsh side. In the afternoon, they would head from the 5th Street beach access up to where the beach ends on the north side at Gould's Inlet.

Graff paused a moment, inspecting a large horseshoe crab shell that had washed up with the last high tide.

"I love being on the beach every day, so I love this job," she said. "And your beach is so unique to me. I mean, we don't have horseshoe crabs on the beach back home. When I'm on a beach, any beach, I don't want to see any trash. I love marine life and this trash is detrimental to those lives."