Three years after car carrier Golden Ray wrecked in Georgia’s St. Simons Sound and a year after the salvage operation was completed the legacy of the wreck continues to hang over the Georgia community. On Wednesday, one day shy of the third anniversary of the wreck heeling over in the sound and triggering the massive salvage operation a new lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia 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 claims that the oil and other residues that leached from the wreck continue to degrade the water quality. They cite 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 names 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 allege 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 cites the numerous pieces removed from the beach while saying many more continue to litter the waterways.

Speaking to the Brunswick News, local shrimp fisherman Johnny Ray Bennett said the one thing he is catching these days is car parts. “Oh, yeah, we’re catching all that junk – bumpers, radiator hoses, tires. It’s everywhere you look, but we ain’t catching the shrimp like we used to,” Bennett told the newspaper.

The lawsuit asks 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 mirror 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 are that more than $800 million has been spent on the removal of the wreck and remediation of the sound. That makes it the costliest shipwreck in U.S. history.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/three-years-after-golden-ray-wreck-fishing-community-sues-for-cleanup

A consortium of Japanese companies working on a project supported by the government reports it has made significant progress in the development of the world’s first ammonia-fueled ammonia gas carrier. The companies are working to develop a design that used the ammonia carried as cargo also as fuel. They are confident that they are overcoming the hurdles required for the first commercial ammonia vessel. They expect to demonstrate the operation of the vessel in 2026.

The group which consists of NYK Line, Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems Co., and Nihon Shipyard Co., highlights that at present there are no international regulations for the use of ammonia as a marine fuel. Therefore, the consortium has been conducting research and development to ensure that the ammonia gas carrier has the same safety features as vessels using existing fuel oil or LNG fuel.

After developing the design concepts and addressing issues related to safety, they have now conducted a risk assessment of the safety of using ammonia as a marine fuel. As a result of their efforts, they received an AiP from the Japanese class society ClassNK. The companies noted that this is the first time that a risk assessment has been conducted and an AiP obtained not only for a concept but also for an alternative design.

While ammonia is widely regarded as a solution to the shipping industry’s goals for decarbonization of its operations, the consortium points to the challenges that also exist with the use of ammonia.
While ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted, they highlighted the issues with the combustion of ammonia as it is hardly flammable and has low energy density. They have been researching increasing mixed combustion while also creating stable operations for the engine.

Combustion of ammonia however does generate nitrous oxide (N2O) which scientists point out has about 300 times the warming potential of CO2. The combustion design needs to suppress the generation of nitrous oxide. In addition, because of the highly toxic nature of ammonia, the design needs to prevent leaks and have adequate safety measures in the event of a leak.

They are focusing on the design of a medium-sized gas carrier with an ammonia loading capacity of approximately 38,000 cubic meters, which they note is currently the common size for marine transportation of ammonia.

The initiative to develop vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fueled engine was initiated in October 2021 as part of the Green Innovation Fund Project from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The project is developing both a two-stroke ammonia-fueled engine for vessel propulsion and a four-stroke ammonia-fueled engine for onboard power supply.

They are working on a safe and environmentally friendly hull design and together are studying the feasibility of the construction and commercial operation of the prototype vessel. They have completed the concept design of a prototype vessel that addresses safe and the practical installation of ammonia-fuel-related equipment in the limited space available in the vessel. The equipment layout has been devised, and they have developed and selected main and auxiliary engines and onboard equipment while securing an ammonia-loading capacity that is equivalent to or greater than that of conventional vessels. They continue to work on further design optimization.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/japanese-group-overcomes-challenges-of-ammonia-to-receive-design-aip