MV Golden Ray

The MV "Golden Ray" was a -long car carrier that capsized on 8 September 2019 in St. Simons Sound near the Port of Brunswick in Georgia, United States. She was eventually declared a total loss and is being removed as scrap.
Design.
"Golden Ray" was built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea. Her keel was laid on 23 December 2015, and she was launched on 26 August 2016. She was delivered from the builder on 12 May 2017, and at the time of her capsizing was owned and operated by Hyundai Glovis. "Golden Ray" measured 71,118 gross tons and 20,995 deadweight tons, and was long, with a beam of . She was powered by a single diesel engine that gave her a service speed of via a single propeller, and had a capacity of up to 7,400 cars.
Capsizing.
On September 8, 2019, "Golden Ray" capsized within the Port of Brunswick's harbor, shortly after unberthing and proceeding towards the Port of Baltimore. The ship departed the dock in Brunswick shortly after midnight and had traveled for only 23 minutes when it started to list. The serious listing caused the port to close immediately. All 23 crewmen on board as well as an American maritime pilot survived, including three engineers who were in the ship's engine room at the time of the incident.
There was a rescue mission by the United States Coast Guard to find 4 of the 23 crew members that were missing. All were eventually rescued and appeared to be in good medical condition. The vessel was carrying 4,200 brand new Kia and Hyundai cars manufactured in Mexico, and vehicles made by other companies for delivery to the Middle East. At the time of its demise, the ship was carrying about 4,300 Kia, Chevrolet, GMC, GM, Mercedes-Benz, and Ram vehicles, according to a report from Car and Driver. The ship was on its way to Baltimore, Maryland at the time of its capsizing.
The incident was mentioned as related to a sudden loss of stability, possibly due to cargo stowage and incorrect water ballasting. A Hyundai Glovis executive told the news media that "there was some kind of an internal fire that could not be controlled and then it capsized". A fire delayed the rescue of the last crew member. The National Transportation Safety Board agreed to assist in investigating the capsize, with two investigators assigned to the case.
Environmental concerns.
In November 2019, "The New York Times" quoted Fletcher Sams, the executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper, a nonprofit that monitors pollution in Georgia's Altamaha River, describing “a concoction of contaminants” already found in the water that has included gas and heavy bunker fuel that powered the ship, as well as gasoline, diesel and antifreeze from the vehicles that were being transported. As of mid-November 2019, it remained unknown how much had flowed into the sound. The discharge could have been limited to a small amount, but the oil and chemicals could have also washed into marshland and seeped into the sediment. Concern was also expressed about a new wave of contaminants from the capsized ship when it is cut up for salvage. Oil-coated grass and floating tarballs were observed around St. Simon's Sound and St. Simon's Island.
Salvage.
The ship has 24 fuel tanks, and all were almost full when she capsized. By 27 September, two of them had been pumped out and vents on the others were plugged. 15,500 US gallons (59,000 L; 12,900 imp gal) had been pumped out, of a total of 300,000 US gallons (1,100,000 L; 250,000 imp gal) believed to be on board. The port continued to operate through the salvage process, with some delays. The salvage operation is expected to take several months, and a team was sent to Chile to examine her sister ship, "Silver Ray", to better understand the internal layout. There are twelve tanks near the engine room and twelve elsewhere on the ship. The salvage crews are monitoring for any pollution caused by leaks.
In October 2019, due to the fire, saltwater corrosion, and salvage costs, the "Golden Ray" was declared a total loss, and it was announced that the ship would be cut up in place and scrapped. Insurance losses on the ship are estimated at $70-80 million, and $80 million in its contents. The salvage work will be done by T&T Salvage utilizing the Versabar heavy lift vessel . On December 13, 2019, Coast Guard authorities confirmed that salvage workers had removed all the vessel's fuel.
On January 20, 2020, salvage workers had to cope with another fire on board the vessel. In February 2020, it was announced that the vessel will be cut into eight sections weighing between 2,700 and 4,100 tons that will then be removed on barges for disposal. In late October, the "VB-10,000" heavy lift vessel arrived and was in position over the wreck on October 27. Cutting operations began on November 6, 2020.
In late November 2020 the first cut was completed, removing the vessel's bow. It was expected to take 24 hours, but after delays caused by tropical storms, and a broken cutting chain, it took over 20 days. The stern was intended to be removed in the second cut.
 preparations for the separation of "Section 7" from the wreck were underway. Preparations were also underway for the cutting of "Section 2".
On May 14th, 2021 the ship caught fire and crews were dispatched to extinguish the flames. The fire, which broke out while a section containing the engine room was being cut free, was extinguished the same day.