ATLANTA (Georgia,US), Sept 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Traffic at the Port of Brunswick was suspended as authorities raced to rescue crew from the 2017-built 7,700 ceu Golden Ray car carrier which was listing heavily and had caught fire in St Simons Sound, Georgia, near the Port of Brunswick.
Authorities were notified of an incident involving the vessel around 2am Sunday morning local time. The vessel had departed Port of Brunswick, headed for Baltimore, when it started to list heavily.
US Coast Guard and other local agencies deployed multiple assets by sea and air as part of efforts to rescue the 23 crew and a pilot from the vessel. The coast guard says 20 people have been rescued so far, while four members of the crew are still unaccounted for.
Korean media is reporting that the four missing crew, all South Koreans, are believed to be trapped in the engine room.
Latest images show the vessel lying flat on its side in the sound, with no signs of continuing fire.
The Golden Ray is owned by South Korea’s Hyundai Glovis, the car shipping unit of Hyundai Motors The company operates a fleet of around 60 vehicle carriers.
In SEOUL, an official of operator Hyundai Glovis said the cargo vessel carrying 4,000 cars bound for the Middle East listed heavily on Sunday off the coast of the southern US state of Georgia.
Efforts are underway to rescue four crew members believed to be inside the vessel, the company and South Korea’s foreign ministry said.
The cars on the ship represented marques such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, added the company official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The US Coast Guard said the ship, the Golden Ray, capsized in the Saint Simonds Sound. A pilot and 23 crew were aboard when it overturned, but only 20 had been rescued, the agency said on Sunday afternoon.
The Vessel Finder website said the ship had recently called at the Port of Brunswick and was headed to Baltimore. The carrier was built in 2017 and was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, the website added. — NNN-AGENCIES
