What are they going to do with The Golden Ray?

My second opinion column I am choosing to write about the ship that capsized in St. Simons Island, Georgia. The ship, which goes by the name “Golden Ray,” overturned back in September after a fire started onboard. The ship overturned in the Golden Isles which is a barrier of islands that border the coast of Georgia. The gigantic ship is owned by the Hyundai company and had 4,200 cars that were on board with the ship as it overturned.

 I chose to write about this article because it discusses some of the present and possible future problems that the ship can cause to the areas surrounding it. This story really hits home because my boyfriend is from Brunswick, Georgia and we used to visit St. Simons very often. I love the beautiful scenery out there from the beautiful water to the green marshes, but now all of that has changed since the Golden Ray capsized.

The location of the Golden ray isn’t far off the coast of Georgia. The ship being overturned is causing some serious environmental issues according to Fletcher Sams, the executive director of Altamaha Riverkeeping. The article talks about how much damage the overturned ship is causing being so close to the beaches and to businesses on the island. The ship is leaking oil and other chemicals like antifreeze and gasoline are also leaking from the cars that are onboard. According to the article, along the shoreline of the coast it’s a dark long oily band of pollutants in the water and marshes.

They have officials that consistently test the water and air quality since the wreck and they also have warnings to the fishers and people swimming to be on alert of oil or products that are oily. The ship is so close to so many resorts and homes it is sad to me that something like this happened so close to a beautiful vacation spot. Officials believe they dodged a bullet and they think that there is nothing extremely wrong at the present moment, but what does this mean for the future?

The Golden Ray could be sitting near St. Simons for months before they are able to get it moved. The plan is for them to cut it into pieces and move it little by little. They are currently working to get fuel removed from the ship so it won’t continue to leak into the ocean and they are also working to treat the water with contaminant boom. Officials believe they have gotten in front of the damage the ship has caused, but experts that monitor the pollution are thinking otherwise.

I think otherwise as well. Maybe they have been able to contain the problem that the ship is causing for the time being, but that is something we probably won’t really know for a while. A ship that size has tons of oil, gasoline, and other chemicals that are being continuously leaked in the ocean minute by minute. What if the damage the officials are seeing isn’t all the damage that has been done? It is the ocean, so what if a lot of the chemicals have already sunk into the ocean to the bottom? I hope that this isn’t something that will harm the people on the beautiful island of St. Simons or anywhere else nearby.