The Bonnie G, a 195-foot Vanuatu-flagged “Ro-ro” cargo vessel, ran aground Wednesday morning, approximately half a mile south of the Cyril E. King airport in St Thomas.
The US Coast Guard says all 12 persons aboard the vessel were rescued, and no injuries were reported.
The vessel was carrying six cars, a bucket truck, a semi-truck rig, a trailer and container, two forklifts, a general-purpose lift as well as two pallets of cargo.
Following an aerial assessment of the grounding site with embarked Coast Guard pollution response personnel on Wednesday afternoon, and a surface assessment by a Coast Guard Boat Forces Detachment St Thomas on Thursday morning, the Bonnie G appears to be stable, and no signs of oil pollution were visible in the water.
Coast Guard responders will continue to monitor the situation.
A preliminary staging area has been identified and plans are underway for a dive team to conduct an underwater assessment to evaluate the sub-surface area surrounding the vessel and identify any damage to the vessel’s hull.
Trained responders are being activated as needed, while the Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.
