Skip to main content
Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Georgia port reopens 4 days after overturned ship closed it

In this image provided by the Georgia Port Authority, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah State of the Port event, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Savannah, Ga. The GPA plans to double capacity at Garden City Terminal to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent container units per year. In Fiscal Year 2019, port-related industries announced $5 billion in new investment and 12,000 new jobs coming to Georgia. (Stephen Morton/Georgia Port Authority via AP)
In this image provided by the Georgia Port Authority, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah State of the Port event, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Savannah, Ga. The GPA plans to double capacity at Garden City Terminal to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent container units per year. In Fiscal Year 2019, port-related industries announced $5 billion in new investment and 12,000 new jobs coming to Georgia. (Stephen Morton/Georgia Port Authority via AP) In this image provided by the Georgia Port Authority, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah State of the Port event, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Savannah, Ga. The GPA plans to double capacity at Garden City Terminal to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent container units per year. In Fiscal Year 2019, port-related industries announced $5 billion in new investment and 12,000 new jobs coming to Georgia. (Stephen Morton/Georgia Port Authority via AP)

By Associated Press 4 min read

photo This Sept. 10, 2019 satellite photo provided by Maxar Technologies, shows the capsized cargo shop Golden Ray in Jekyll Island, Ga. A fire broke out aboard the ship early Sunday, listing it to the side and blocking the shipping channel. The Coast Guard and a salvage crew freed the four remaining Golden Ray crew members. (Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies via AP)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – A Georgia seaport that shut down when a cargo ship overturned while returning to sea was allowed to reopen Thursday after the Coast Guard agreed it was safe for vessels to slowly sail one by one past the capsized freighter.

The decision to open the shipping channel to the Port of Brunswick came four days after the South Korean ship Golden Ray toppled over soon after departing the port with a cargo of 4,200 vehicles. The ship’s pilot and all 23 crew members were rescued, including four men who endured 36 hours trapped below its decks.

At the Georgia Ports Authority’s annual “State of the Ports” event Thursday in Savannah, officials including Gov. Brian Kemp praised the Coast Guard for the successful rescues and the swift reopening of the Brunswick port.

“We are back open for business in Brunswick, another remarkable achievement,” Kemp told about 1,400 business leaders, elected officials and others attending the event in Savannah, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of the port.

Coast Guard Capt. John Reed told The Associated Press the port was allowed to resume operations once crews determined ships could safely pass the Golden Ray, which measures more than 650 feet (nearly 200 meters) long. Two vessels stuck at the port since Sunday had been allowed to depart Wednesday as a test to make sure their passing didn’t jostle the overturned ship.