Golden Ray's third cut completed Monday night

Mar. 16—The VB 10,000 crane barge cut its way through the foremost section of shipwrecked Golden Ray on Monday night, eight days after the operation began, said Coast Guardsman Michael Himes, spokesman for Unified Command.

The cutting chain completed the separation of the section shortly before 9 p.m. Monday. The 255-foot-tall VB 10,000 is now preparing to hoist the 3,745-ton, 85-foot-long section from the water. Sometime Tuesday morning, the barge Julie B is expected enter through a gate in the 1-mile perimeter environmental protection barrier that surrounds the Golden Ray.

The twin-hulled VB 10,000 will move off of the shipwreck and place the huge gargantuan chunk of steel onto the Julie B, which has a cradle on its deck constructed specifically for the section.

The transfer will take place at slack high tide, Himes said. The next high tide in the St. Simons Sound occurs at around 11 a.m., according to tidal charts. Unified Command reminds boaters to observe the 200-yard safety zone from the environmental protection barrier.

Oil and debris cleanup crews will be on the water during the lifting and loading process. Numerous vehicles have fallen into the waters inside the protection barrier during the previous two section removals. The barrier has mesh netting beneath to contain loose vehicles and large pieces of debris. Oil retention booms line the barrier's surface.

The 656-foot-long Golden Ray overturned in the sound on Sept. 8, 2019, while heading out to sea with a cargo of 4,200 vehicles.

Salvors redirected their attention to the foremost section after a chain break occurred Feb. 26 during operations to cut the engine section off of the rear of the shipwreck. It was the fifth work stoppage in a month-long effort to cut through the dense reinforced steel around the engine section, known to salvors as Section 7. The foremost section is known as Section 2.

Salvors decided to refocus on cutting Section 2 mainly to meet a deadline with the Julie B, which arrived from Louisiana on March 9.

The Julie B will take Section 2 back to Mayor's Point for further welding and other efforts to make the barge and its hulking cargo seaworthy for the voyage to a recycling facility in Gibson, La. Once removed, this third cut will reduce the shipwreck's presence in the sound to about 365 feet.

Salvors will then return to the rear of the shipwreck to finish cutting through Section 7.

The bow section was removed in a three-week effort in November. The stern section was removed during an operation from Dec. 25 to Jan. 2.

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Editor's Note: The latest cut was not completed by press time for The Brunswick News' Tuesday edition. The story, as it appeared in Tuesday's paper, can be read below in full.

Salvors were closing in Monday on completing the cutting of a third large section from the shipwrecked Golden Ray, the vessel that once stretched half-submerged for 656 feet across the St. Simons Sound.

The massive cutting chain has sheared its way to the top of the exposed starboard side of the shipwreck's foremost section, its grinding progress powered by the system of winches, pulleys and blocks on the VB 10,000 crane vessel, said U.S. Coast Guardsman Michael Himes, spokesman for Unified Command.

Cutting began early on March 7 on this foremost section, known to the salvage operation as Section 2. The thick anchor chain must tear through the shipwreck's thick steel outer layer as well as 12 interior steel cargo decks to cut a section free. Each section weighs several thousand metric tons.

The chain typically advances more quickly on the deck side than the hull side, which includes the thick keel running its length. But the chain has advanced through the keel on the hull side and is advancing steadily upward, Himes said.

"We're looking at separation over the next couple of days, although we don't know exactly when that will occur," Himes said. "But we're getting close. The chain is at the topside. On the hull side of the chain has advanced almost to the top of the wreck as well."

The Golden Ray overturned on its port side Sept. 8, 2019, while heading out to sea with a cargo of 4,200 vehicles.

On Sunday, salvors added a third pulley, known as a "wildcat pulley," to better apply tension to the chain as it reaches the upper section of the shipwreck, Himes said. The two main pulleys connect the cutting chain to the VB 10,000's winches, which pull the chains back and forth in a sawing motion from the bottom up.

"As the chain starts to flatten out at the top of the shipwreck, they introduce this wildcat pulley," Himes said. "It's just an additional pulley that allows the cutting chain to maintain the required tension and maintain proper alignment when they get to the top."

While all this cutting is going on, additional sturdy lines and broad overhead beams secure to the lifting lugs on the shipwreck's exposed side to steady the section that is being cut.

The giant lifting lugs were secured to the hull in advance of cutting, two each on each of the shipwreck's eight sections. Engineers designed each lifting lug specifically to balance and distribute weight for its location.

Once the chain cuts completely through Section 2, the approximately 3,745-metric-ton section will be hoisted from the water. The VB 10,000 will move off of the shipwreck. The barge Julie B will then enter through a gate in the 1-mile perimeter environmental protection barrier that surrounds the shipwreck. The VB 10,000 will move into position astride the Julie B and place Section 2 into a cradle on the barge that was specifically designed to hold this piece. Salvors will attempt this operation only during slack high tide, Himes said.

After going back to the Mayor's Point in Brunswick for additional welding and other measures to render the barge and its cargo seaworthy, the Julie B will haul Section 2 to a recycling facility in Gibson, La.

The stern and port sections already have been delivered to Modern American Recycling Services (MARS) in Louisiana.

The VB 10,000 will then return to the other end of the shipwreck and resume its struggle with the engine section, known as Section 7. Salvors withdrew from Section 7 after the chain broke Feb. 26, marking the fifth work stoppage in a month-long effort that had advanced only halfway through the section. Dense reinforced steel surrounds the engine section, contributing to the slow-going.

Salvors decided to redirect their efforts to cutting away Section 2. This was done mainly to meet a deadline with the barge Julie B, which returned to local waters March 9 after dropping off the bow section at MARS.

Barge 455-7, which is assigned to Section 7, is docked at Mayor's Point. Section 7 weighs an estimated 3,905 metric tons.

With the bow and stern sections removed, the shipwreck has dwindled to about 450 feet. With Section 2 removed, about 365 feet of shipwreck will remain in the waters between St. Simons and Jekyll islands.

Unified Command reminds boaters to observe the 200-yard safety barrier that extends from the environmental protection barrier. This holds true especially during the crucial lifting and loading process, when oil and debris cleanup crews might need to maneuver quickly on the water, Himes said.

Unlike the stout Section 7, cutting on Section 2 has progressed with no unforeseen delays, Himes said. Salvors have stopped only for routine safety checks and to change worn parts.

"Nothing has occurred beyond the scope of our expectations," Himes said. "Pauses occurred for routine inspections and maintenance of the cutting apparatus."