BRUNSWICK, Ga. – The Coast Guard will host an award ceremony Monday morning to honor crew members for their response to the Golden Ray cargo ship that capsized in 2019 near Brunswick.
The Golden Ray vessel was leaving the Port of Brunswick in September 2019 when it tilted over in St. Simons Sound.
Rescue efforts started quickly for the 23 crew members and 42,000 cars that were on board in what became the largest wreck removal in U.S. history.
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Dramatic videos show the moments one man was rescued after being trapped on board for more than 36 hours.
“We hope, please we are grounded. If not grounded, we are going to die. So we prayed to God to ground it,” First Engineer Junyong Kim said.
In September 2020, hearings revealed the Coast Guard analysis found the ship overturned because of unstable loading.
Environmental concerns grew as salvage plans started, and crews began removing fuel from the ship.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources determined the ship would be disassembled in place because it would not be safe to upright and refloat the vessel.
Rocks were placed next to the ship’s hull to stop erosion. A large net barrier was installed to catch surface pollutants.
The plan was to cut the ship into eight big chunks and remove them.
A massive crane came in to lift the parts of the ship.
Crews finished cutting it down by September 2021, and the last piece of it was removed one month later.
MORE | Golden Ray ‘great feat’: Largest wreck removal in US history complete
The ceremony to honor the maritime partners for the Golden Ray Response will be held at the Southeast Georgia Conference Center at 9 a.m. Monday.
News4JAX will be attending this ceremony.