ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — So far, the fuel from two tanks aboard the Golden Ray has been successfully pumped out, but there's still a long way to go.
Crews still need to remove the fuel from 22 more tanks aboard the capsized ship.
The goal is to prevent any more fuel from getting out into the environment.
It's now been 19 days since the Golden Ray capsized in the St. Simons Sound, shifting everything inside of it, including dangerous pollutants, such as oil.
TRENDING:
- One man found dead, another beaten and dragged by car blocks apart in Jacksonville
- Mother: 4-year-old daughter sent home wearing nothing but a T-shirt and another child's underwear
- CCSO: 10-year-old boy removed from meth house full of trash, maggots
- Restaurant Report: Inspectors find 46 rodent droppings in kitchen of Biggies' Pizza
Chris Graff of Gallagher Marine Systems, the company hired by the ship's owner to handle the incident, gave a news briefing Friday morning along with the Coast Guard, the salvage company Donjon-Smit, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Dive crews have already plugged fuel tank vents, but that doesn't solve the problem.
"With that done, there have still been releases into the environment, and we've been responding to those," Graff said.
According to Graff, 15,500 gallons of fuel has been transferred off the ship.
PHOTOS: Coast Guard rescues trapped crew members from capsized cargo ship
Action News Jax has previously reported there are 300,000 gallons of fuel on board.
Once all the fuel has been pumped out, crews can start surveying the cargo hold.
"We can't access the cargo hold at this time. The environment is not safe," Graff said.
Despite the challenges, John Maddox, of the Georgia DNR, assured the public that they're keeping a close eye on it.
"All the analytical data that we have received to date shows no identifications, no detections of contaminants identified with the Golden Ray ship," Maddox said.
STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories
Crews will continue to monitor the shoreline and conduct water sampling.
As for port operations, marine traffic is flowing, but the Coast Guard admits there have been some delays.
A crew has been sent to Chile to survey the Golden Ray's sister vessel, the Silver Ray, to get a better understanding of the ship's layout.
Officials stayed away from offering any hard timelines at Friday's news conference, an indication that the salvage operation will take months, if not longer.
Cox Media Group
