A St. Simons Sound Incident Response crane lifts a 150-foot wide section of netting from a barge in preparation for its installation on the environmental protection barrier (EPB) surrounding the motor vessel Golden Ray in St. Simon’s Sound, Georgia, May 29, 2020. Custom-made from soft, high-tensile-strength polyester straps sewn on a five-foot by five-foot grid pattern, the netting stretches from the seabed to above the surface of the water. The netting will serve to capture potential debris from the Golden Ray as the vessel is being cut and removed but is designed to allow marine life to swim safely through it. Photo by Jaime Sanchez-Perez
Workers with the St. Simons Sound Incident Response install a 150-foot wide section of netting on the environmental protection barrier (EPB) surrounding the motor vessel Golden Ray in St. Simon’s Sound, Georgia, May 29, 2020. Offshore oil boom will also be secured to the floating HDPE pipe barriers that make up part of the EPB in order to retain any potential surface discharge during the removal of the vessel. The soft, high-strength-polyester netting, which extends from the seafloor to above the surface of the water, will catch larger solid debris while allowing marine life to swim safely through. Photo by Jaime Sanchez-Perez
The fourth of 28 sections of environmental protection barrier netting was installed by St. Simons Sound Incident Response workers around the motor vessel Golden Ray in St. Simon’s Sound, Georgia, May 29, 2020. Made from soft, high-strength polyester straps sewn on a five-foot by five-foot grid, each custom-assembled panel ranges from 35 to 65 feet in height depending upon the depth to the seafloor, where it is weighted with heavy chain. The nets extend upward from the seabed and rise to above the water’s surface to catch potential debris from the ship’s removal while allowing marine life to swim safely through. Photo by Jaime Sanchez-Perez