Coast Guard searches for four missing crew members after 656FT cargo ship carrying vehicles turns on its side off the Georgia coast (4 Pics)

The U.S. Coast Guard says rescuers are looking for four crew members who are unaccounted for after a vessel overturned near a Georgia port.

The Golden Ray cargo ship ran into trouble early Sunday when it listed heavily in St. Simon Sound shortly as it was leaving Brunswick.

The Coast Guard says there were 23 crew members and one pilot on board. 

All but four crew members have been safely evacuated from the ship, a 656-foot vehicle carrier. 

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Golden Ray cargo ship lists to one side near a port on the Georgia coast before dawn on Sunday

The cargo vessel appears to overturn while a fire raged on board in St. Simons Sound, Georgia on Sunday

The above image is a handout photo made available by the Coast Guard showing Coast Guard crews and port partners responding to a disabled cargo vessel

The Coast Guard says it was notified by a 911 call at about 2am of a capsized vessel in the sound. The cause is under investigation.

The Port of Brunswick has established an emergency safety zone in St. Simons Sound. 

Vessels are not authorized within a half mile of the Golden Ray, which is lying on its side and on fire.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Dickinson says it is not known if weather conditions caused the ship to lurch. 

The car carrier Golden Ray is on April 15, 2019 in the port of Bremerhaven

Hurricane Dorian brushed past the Georgia coast last week before being downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.

It remains unclear what role, if any, the hurricane played in Sunday's capsizing. 

Dickinson said it was not immediately known whether there were any injuries on board.

The name of the ship's owner was not immediately available.

The Port of Brunswick is currently closed to vessel traffic.