From left, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Efren Lopez, federal on-scene coordinator for the response accompanies Lt. Ben McKeathen and Andrew Lawrence of the Salvage Engineering Response Team (SERT) and Cmdr. Heather Mattern of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston throughout an inspection of the topside of the Golden Ray wreck on May 25. [St. Simons Sound Incident response photo]
As they proceed to evaluate the affect of the fireplace that broke out inside the Golden Ray wreck on May 14, responders say the tools getting used to chop up and take away the stays of the capsized automobile provider—together with the large heavy raise vessel VB-10000 — is totally operational.
WILL LIFTING LUGS HOLD?
What continues to be being assessed is the integrity of the enormous lugs that VB-10000 makes use of to raise sections of the capsized automobile provider following chopping operations. A worst case situation could be if the lugs parted firm with a wreck part throughout lifting operations.
The St. Simons Sound Response unified command says {that a} preliminary engineering evaluation confirmed that the lugs and structural members of the subsequent part of the wreck set for removing, Section Three, are in passable situation. However an entire evaluation could prescribe extra reinforcement or restore measures to make sure secure lifting operations.
Once the testing is full on Section Three, wreck removing personnel will make closing preparations to recommence chopping operations to separate the part from the rest of the wreck.
Naval architects and response engineers will proceed to evaluate the construction of the remaining Golden Ray wreck and the lifting lugs welded to the highest of the wreck to find out optimum lifting weights for every part. Their calculations mix information from earlier lifts together with information collected from non-destructive testing and metallurgical analyses of the topside of the wreck and every lifting lug. If any part exceeds the advisable lifting weight, weight-shedding operations will start.
FOCUS ON SAFETY
“We are confident that we can safely resume cutting operations after carefully assessing all of our equipment and the wreck itself,” stated U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Efren Lopez, federal on-scene coordinator. “We are completely focused on our goal of safely removing the remainder of the Golden Ray while safeguarding the surrounding environment and the shipping channel throughout the process.”
Rope entry technicians and divers have accomplished pre-cutting on remaining sections of the wreck which included drilling extra drain holes and eradicating plates of exterior metal alongside projected minimize grooves.
