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MV Hoegh Osaka - Stranded on Brambles sand bank

The 52,000 tonne Hoegh Osaka has just run aground on Bramble Bank in the Solent at the entrance to Southampton waters.

 

She was built in 2000, originally as "Maersk Wind" and is 180 metres long and 32 metres wide

 

Her cargo of 1,400 brand new luxury cars including Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Land Rovers and Bentley's is now beached on a sandbank at an angle of 45 degrees.

 

Salvage teams, tugs and cranes will be arriving shortly.

 

The first attempt to refloat her failed and the police launches are guarding her overnight.

 

There is a 200m exclusion zone around her.

 

BBC News link

 

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-30671548

 

One rumour at the moment is that she was deliberately beached in order to avoid her sinking in the main shipping channel after a major fault arose with her ballast tanks.

 

Either way, a very expensive disaster.

 

Update 1: She will remain beached on the sandbank for the next three days until the tides are high enough to refloat her.

 

Update 2: The owners have confirmed she was beached deliberately to "stop her capsizing"

 

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Uploaded on January 6, 2015
Taken on January 6, 2015