Third and Fourth Lifting Lugs Installed on M/V Golden Ray
T&T Salvage on Friday installed the third and fourth lifting lugs on the M/V Golden Ray, a roll-on, roll-off vessel that ran aground and overturned near the Port of Brunswick in Georgia in September.
In total, 16 lugs will be installed: two on each of the eight sections of the South Korean car carrier, which rests on its side in St. Simons Sound.
The 656-foot, 20,000-deadweight-ton Golden Ray will need to be dismantled in place and removed in pieces because the vessel, in its current position and condition, would not be able to support the stress exerted on the hull and keel during parbuckling operations.
The lifting lugs are designed to distribute the weight of each particular section during the cutting and lifting operation and will be used as a connection point between the rigging of the VB-10,000 twin-gantry catamaran, and each section of the ship.
The plan to dismantle the Golden Ray and remove an estimated 4,200 vehicles from on board was announced in February. Salvors have removed fuel from the ship's tanks and constructed a protection barrior around the wreck.
The Marshall-Islands-flagged car carrier has been aground on its side outside the nation's second largest car carrier port since it capsized shortly after leaving the Port of Brunswick en route to Baltimore on September 8. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
The ship’s pilot and 23 crew members were all recovered safely, including four crew members trapped inside the vessel for 35 hours before they could be rescued through a hole drilled into the hull.