GOLDEN RAY

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Lawsuit was dismissed

After nearly two years of legal battles, a federal lawsuit against the owner of the 'Golden Ray', which had capsized on Sept. 9, 2019, shortly after departing the Port of Brunswick, and the salvage company was dismissed on June 25, 2024, after reaching a settlement with fishers, crabbers and other seafaring businesses. Nearly a year after the final piece of the ship was hauled away, nearby fishermen and charter captains filed a federal lawsuit which claimed the environmental damage caused by the capsizing and the salvage cost them much of their livelihood. It named the owners of the 'Golden Ray', the company that chartered it, its staffer, and the group that acted as the ship’s agent in the Port of Brunswick. The suit argued oil and other pollutants degraded water quality in violation of the Clean Water Act. It also claimed chemicals from the ship leached into the sound’s seabed. The exact terms of the agreement have not been released, and the attorney representing the fisherman said they could not comment because of a confidential clause.

New lawsuit was filed in Brunswick

One year after the salvage operation of the 'Golden Ray' was completed, the legacy of the wreck continues to hang over the Georgia community. On Sep 7, 2022, one day shy of the third anniversary of the sinking, a new lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, echoing issues raised by the local government in a similar suit filed in March 2022. Lawyers representing commercial fishermen, including shrimpers and crabbers as well as other commercial charter boat operators, contend the area’s waters remain heavily polluted undermining their clients’ livelihood. The suit claimed that the oil and other residues that leached from the wreck continued to degrade the water quality. They cited the initial leaks as well as subsequent discharges during the salvage operation as well as the fires and other problems during the removal and remediation efforts. The suit named a wide range of defendants including the owner of the vessel, Hyundai Glovis as the charter, the local agents, and the crewing company for the vessel, as well as the salvage contractors. The suit alleges negligence both in the operation of the Golden Ray and the cleanup after the wreck. They alleged a year after the last cut was completed on the hulk of the 'Golden Ray' and the pieces were removed from the sound, that the seabed remains covered with car parts both from cars that fell into the water and from parts that washed out of the hulk. The suit cited the numerous pieces removed from the beach while saying many more continued to litter the waterways. The lawsuit asked the court to order additional remediation of St. Simons Sound and the surrounding waterways. They are also seeking civil penalties and financial compensation for their lost business over the past three years. Many of the issues in the new suit mirrored similar allegations in a suit filed six months ago in the same federal court by the county where the wreck occurred. The Georgia county also filed suit alleging negligence both against the ship’s owners and operators as well as the salvage company for environmental damage and lost tax revenues. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division separately in November 2021 proposed a $3 million fine for the 'Golden Ray'’s operator citing pollutants, petroleum products, and other debris that were discharged into the sound. At the time, the Georgia state authority gave Hyundai one year to pay the fine or propose a supplemental environmental project in return for a reduced fine. To date, estimates were that more than $800 million have been spent on the removal of the wreck and remediation of the sound.

T&T Salvage may sue owner for damages

The salvor of the 'Golden Ray', denying responsibility for any damages that may have resulted from the salvaging process, may sue the vessel's owner should it become necessary. The Texas-based T&T Salvage filed a motion stating as much on June 8 in U.S. District Court in Brunswick. The filing was in response to a lawsuit Glynn County filed in late March in federal court. The county suit claimed environmental degradation and financial losses as a result of the capsize of the vessel in the St. Simons Sound as well as during the 11-month salvage operation that wrapped up in Oct 2021. The county's lawsuit names the ship's South Korean owner, GL NV24 Shipping Inc., T&T and others, including Hyundai Glovis Co., G-Marine Service Co. and Norton Lilly International. In its filing, T&T Salvage said its contract with GL NV24 holds the shipping company responsible for any damage that may have resulted from its salvage operation. "Under the Wreckhire Contract, GL NV24 has a contractual obligation to defend, indemnify and hold harmless T&T against claims asserted in the underlying lawsuit. To the extent that T&T incurs any liability to plaintiff with respect to the allegations in plaintiff's live petition, T&T sues GL NV24 as being liable for their own act and/or omissions causing or contributing to any alleged injury or damage, for contribution for any such liability on the part of T&T" the filing, which was submitted by Savannah attorney Colin A. McRae, stated. The filing noted the ship's owner is held responsible by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, as well as Georgia environmental laws. Established in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, the Oil Pollution Act ensures that environmental protection regulations are met in such operations and holds a ship's owner and insurer financially responsible. T&T further stated in its filing that "damages, if any, were caused by GL NV24's own negligence associated with the ownership, operation, management, maintenance and/or control of M/V Golden Ray." In September 2021, a London-based insurance industry magazine estimated the Golden Ray's salvage costs at $842 million and climbing. The county's lawsuit seeks money for its costs to clean public lands, damage to public and private lands, lost tax revenue and lost tourism dollars, among other things. The county's lawsuit holds the ship's crew and its owner responsible for the Golden Ray's capsizing. It also claimed T&T's operation caused "repeated fires causing discharges of debris and hazards fluids ... throughout the duration of the wreck removal." In December 2021, the state Environmental Protection Division levied a $3 million fine against the ship's owner, the agency's largest ever fine.