Beach goers are advised not to swim or wade in the ocean on St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island until more is known about the potential environmental impact of a cargo ship capsizing in the St. Simons Sound early Sunday morning, September 8. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit out of Savannah is actively working to rescue four crewmembers from the cargo ship, Golden Ray.
JIA representatives are in ongoing discussions with The Coast Guard, The Coastal Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and emergency management agencies who are at the Coast Guard incident command center, as well NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, and will continue to monitor any and all developments to provide updates to residents, businesses and visitors as more information is available.
Out of an abundance of caution, The Coastal Health District is issuing a precautionary swimming advisory until DNR can conduct water quality sampling to ensure the safety of shellfish harvesting beds and swimming, but beaches are not closed at this time.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division, a branch of DNR, has also been notified of the capsizing and is monitoring the situation.
For updates, visit https://coastalgadnr.org/GoldenRay
