As has been reported elsewhere, the Unified Command for the Golden Ray St. Simons Sound incident recently announced a determination that the cargo ship cannot safely be righted and salvaged in one piece. Therefore it is anticipated that the vessel will be dismantled in place.
Separately from the salvage operations, the Unified Command is implementing monitoring and maintenance cleaning protocols for previously impacted Jekyll Island beaches. This will consist of regular and ongoing inspections of Jekyll Island beaches and as-needed cleaning by response crews and associated vehicle support.
Unless otherwise announced, clean up crews seen on Jekyll Island are not responding to new discharges of oil or fuel from the vessel. These patrols are precautionary in nature and designed to quickly address any wash ups of oil from previous discharges in the event that materials that may have sunk off shore are later transported onto the beach.
As a reminder, the latest public information pertaining to this incident is available at www.ssiresponse.com. The community is encouraged to sign up for alerts to stay informed.
