Coast Guard finding minimal pollution from capsized ship, Golden Ray

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — So far, the Coast Guard and other allied agencies have found very minimal contaminants in the water around the St. Simons Sound.

Roy Coch, a local fisherman on St. Simons Island says, "I think we're just really lucky to be honest with you."

It's good news for the Golden Isles.

Altamaha Coastkeeper Susan Inman explains, "You have this huge ship with an enormous amount of contaminants on board, but it's actually still contained."

Inman tells Action News Jax, they found an oil slick in the marsh along the Frederica Eiver and further up a smaller river. The Coast Guard has also surrounded Bird Island with over 5,000 feet of boom to protect the wildlife, but right now that's all that's been found.

"I mean we have some leaks and some spills, but it's actually minimal. It's a really big deal they're not finding it on the beaches."

The unified command unit which consists of the U.S. Coast Guard, Georgia's Department of Natural Resources, and others scoured miles of coastline for oil and contaminants from the Golden Ray. They walked along Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island and found no pollution. 
 
St. Simons Island local Maclean Pfister says, "It makes me a lot more encouraged to get back in the water."

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It's a big sigh of relief for the locals and visitors that come to the Golden Isles for the stunning beaches, but Inman says they're not completely in the clear just yet.

"We definitely don't have a green light yet because we still have a ship on its side."

The Coast Guard is asking for the public to report any oiled wildlife or pollution by using their unified command center hotline.

For oiled wildlife, call 800-261-0980.
To report pollution, call 800-424-8802.

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