BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Crews are monitoring the capsized Golden Ray cargo ship around the clock after white smoke was seen coming from the ship on Sunday.
The ship remains in the St. Simons Sound more than a month after it overturned Sept. 8 and its crew members were rescued.
Response teams used firefighting equipment from the air and water to contain the smoke.
The source of the smoke from the Golden Ray is unknown, but many fishermen in the area are still curious about it and how the ship capsized in the first place.
“Nobody really knows what happened except who was on the ship," fisherman Dave Capano said. "All I know is the pilot did the right thing grounding it where it is.”
Capano says the Golden Ray capsizing impacted several aspects of life around Glynn County.
It temporarily shut down traffic to the Port of Brunswick and has leaked oil into the sound.
On Sunday morning, smoke was seen on the top of the ship.
Fletcher Sams, executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper says volunteers watched the response closely.
“They scrambled air assets and they were on scene within the first hour of the ship," Sams said. "When we arrived, they were spraying seawater on the surface of the ship to cool it off.”
The smoke was contained within hours, but the U.S. Coast Guard says it doesn’t know exactly where that smoke came from.
Sams believes it may have started in the cargo area, which can’t be accessed due to toxic fumes.
Sams says the ship has left a negative mark on the environment.
“I think for the most part we’ve mapped the heavy fuel impacts, but we still have questions about the damage to animal and plant life,” Sams said.
Sams and Capano both want answers about the ship’s impacts and why this happened in the first place.
“I think they’re playing it close to the vest," Capano said. "I can understand, but I’d love to know what happened quite honestly."