Report: Officer’s error likely caused shipwreck off Georgia

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Federal investigators say an officer’s errors in calculating the stability of a cargo ship carrying more than 4,000 new cars likely caused the giant vessel to capsize on the Georgia seacoast. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board issued its report Tuesday on the 2019 capsizing of the Golden Ray, which is still being removed in pieces. NTSB investigators concluded the ship was unstable because it lacked enough water in its ballast tanks to offset the weight of the cargo in the ship’s upper decks. They say that’s probably because the chief officer made errors entering data into a computer used to calculate stability.