
Salvage workers today boarded a car carrier deliberately stranded on a sandbank in an attempt to stabilise it before the arrival of 50mph winds.

The Hoegh Osaka, which has at least £35million of cars on board including Jaguars and Land Rovers, was deliberately grounded on Saturday night.

The ship is currently located on the Bramble Bank in the Solent between Southampton and the Isle of Wight, having sailed from the Hampshire port.

Tonight: A tug boat continues to push against the car carrier Hoegh Osaka as darkness falls after she became stranded on Bramble Bank

At night: The Hoegh Osaka became stranded on Bramble Bank, in the Solent between Southampton and the Isle of Wight

A 52,000-tonne cargo ship carrying 1,200 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles that was deliberately grounded by its crew could have been hit by problems before the incident as a result of human error, pictured this evening

The ship contained around 1,400 cars including 65 MINIs, a Rolls-Royce Wraith worth £20,000 and 105 JCB machines

The vessel began to list as it left the port, forcing the captain and pilot to beach it on the sandbank to prevent it turning over into the sea.

It prompted a major rescue operation as the 24 crew members and a pilot had to be taken to safety by coastguard helicopter and RNLI lifeboats.

Two people suffered non-life threatening injuries and were taken to hospital. Now, the 52,000-tonne ship registered in Singapore is listing at 45 degrees.

And salvors now want to ensure the ship will be as stable as possible to survive the 50mph winds forecast locally by the Met Office on Wednesday.

The salvage operation could take weeks, while an exclusion zone has been set up to prevent small vessels interfering with the tugs and other shipping.

Salvage company Svitzer has been appointed to lead the operation to refloat the ship.

A Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesman said experts from Svitzer had gone on board to begin an inspection of the vessel.

He said: ‘The car carrier Hoegh Osaka remains grounded on the Bramble Bank in the Solent. Salvors from Svitzer have today boarded the vessel.

‘There remains no reported pollution from the vessel which rests listing at 45 degrees.

‘The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's Counter Pollution Team will continue to monitor the vessel which is currently assessed as being stable.

An investigation has begun into why 52,000 tonne car transporter, the Hoegh Osaka, started 'severely' listing shortly after leaving the Port of Southampton, pictured this morning

Salvage tugs (pictured today) stay close to the stricken vessel the Hoegh Osaka after it ran aground on a sandbank in the Solent

An aerial view of boats surrounding the Hoegh Osaka which is believed to contain 1200 Jaguars and Land Rovers

A Red Funnel jet hi-speed ferry passes the cargo ship which is carrying 1,400 cars including a Rolls-Royce and 65 MINIs, pictured today

Southampton port boss, Nick Ridehalgh, from Associated British Ports said that it was possible that human error could have played a part, pictured this morning

A passenger on the Red Funnel ferry looks towards the stricken vessel 'Hoegh Osaka' which was bound for Germany when it ran aground

‘Salvage plans are being developed by Svitzer and will be reviewed by the Secretary of State's Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention (SOSREP).

‘For safety reasons there is a 200-metre exclusion zone around the grounded vessel and a one mile and 2,000ft air exclusion zone.

‘There is no impact on vessels transiting the Solent as the vessel is not within a shipping channel.’

WHAT'S INSIDE THE HOEGH OSAKA? The 52,000-tonne cargo ship is carrying 1,400 luxury cars, these include: 1,200 Jaguars and Land Rovers

65 MINIs

Rolls-Royce Wraith worth £20,000

105 JCB machines Advertisement

Simon Boxall, oceanographer at the University of Southampton's National Oceanography Centre, said a close inspection would have to be carried out to establish whether the ship had been damaged and whether the cargo of cars had shifted inside.

This would help to establish whether the ship was capable of being refloated.

He said: ‘The key thing is take things gently. There were reports of trying to refloat it yesterday but they weren't planning to.

‘The reason is they want to know if the structure is still together. They don't want to just drag it off and it splits in two, causing the major disaster that they have so far avoided.

‘They need to make sure it is capable of floating first and establish the best time and best way of doing this.’

An investigation has now been launched and Southampton port director, Nick Ridehalgh, from Associated British Ports, said that it was possible that human error could be behind the incident which sparked a major search and rescue operation.

'There could be an element of human error. We won't know until the investigation is complete. There was potential if the action hadn't happened for the vessel to capsize,' he said.

The ship, carrying luxury cars including Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, is now listing at 52 degrees and a salvage operation has begun, which could take weeks

An aerial view of the ship, which its owners say was run deliberately grounded to prevent it from capsizing after it began listing

A spokesman for ABP said: 'It is well established that these things can arise from human error.

'Not just the steering, it could be mechanical, human error or a combination of the two. But no one knows until the investigation is complete.'

All 25 crew members were rescued from the ship by the RNLI and coastguard and two were taken to hospital with minor injuries, including one who suffered a broken leg.

The ship is carrying 65 MINIs and a Rolls-Royce Wraith worth £200,000.

Professor Boxall said: 'Of course it could be down to human error, that is always possible.

‘The first question is, why was the ship listing so severely, that is not normal. It could be that the cargo had shifted and it was not loaded correctly.

'It is possible that the wrong tank may have been refuelled. It could be a human or a mechanical error, but we will have to wait until the result of the investigation.'

Captain John Noble, a marine salvage expert from Southampton, said something 'clearly went wrong' just 45 minutes after leaving Southampton.

He said: 'This is a matter which will be closely investigated because something clearly went wrong very quickly after she left the berth.

‘That required drastic action to save the crew and the ship so it is unique from that point of view.

'The pilot would have had close knowledge of the water, so when the situation deteriorated, he would have had very good knowledge of the Bramble Bank, where it was advised to be the best place to beach the ship.

Ingar Skiaker, the chief executive officer of Hoegh Autoliners, has praised the 'great skill and seamanship' of the pilot and master, who took the decision to steer the ship into Bramble Bank to prevent it from capsizing

Crew members rescued from the listing ship are pictured as they arrive at the casualty centre set up in Southampton

All crew members (pictured) were successfully rescued from the ship last night with one believed to have broken a leg

'I have never seen anything quite like this. They (salvage operations) are all quite different, but this one is more different from usual. It could well be there for a month.'

Ingar Skiaker, the chief executive officer of Hoegh Autoliners, which own the vessel, praised the 'great skill and seamanship' of the pilot and master, who took the decision to steer the ship into Bramble Bank.

'Our vessel developed a severe list shortly after she left port and the pilot and the master took the decision to save the vessel and its crew by grounding her on the bank,' he said.

'This showed great skill and seamanship on behalf of our crew when faced with such challenging circumstances.

'At this stage it is too early to speculate on the cause of the list but we are starting an immediate investigation.

'Right now we have serious work ahead of us in order to free the vessel from the Bramble Bank without disrupting the flow of traffic in and out of the Port of Southampton.

'An investigation is ongoing as to what occurred last night and that is being conducted by the MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch).'

He confirmed 'no oil or other substances' had leaked from the vessel and when asked whether there were too many vehicles on board, he replied: 'No, the vessel was only one-third full.'

Svitzer will spend the next few days going on board the ship to establish if the cargo, which also includes 70 to 80 pieces of construction equipment, had shifted.

According to www.marinetraffic.com the 52,000 ton vessel left Southampton and made a sharp left turn and ran aground

MARITIME EXPERT: 'EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S THERE, IT'S ON EVERY CHART'S Striken vessel, The Hoegh Osaka, could be stranded for up to a month as a salvage operation takes place Maritime expert Professor Simon Boxall, of the National Oceanography Centre based in Southampton, said there could be a number of reasons why the ship had grounded. Two possibilities were that it was done intentionally to avoid a bigger catastrophe or may have been due to a mechanical fault, he said. He said: 'Interestingly, the ship went to the west of Bramble Bank whereas usually it would have gone to the east, past Portsmouth and across the Channel towards Germany. 'Visibility, given it was night, was perfect, there was just a light wind of around 2mph, wave conditions were good. Basically there was no weather-related reason for it to have problems. 'This ship has been in and out of Southampton before, the pilots are usually very experienced and they know the Bramble Bank so one wonders if there was a problem and the skipper decided, sensibly, that the safest thing to do was to ground it on the bank. 'Was there an instability problem?' He added: 'The big question was whether the high tide would turn it on its side which would have made things very difficult. 'It didn't and that means the salvage operation has time and could wait for spring tides which are higher and arrive around Tuesday. 'It's now a question of taking things gently and carefully and trying to get it afloat safely and into port. 'It's basically a very large car ferry at a 45 degree angle so it will be a mess inside. There will be a lot of cargo - probably high end vehicles from BMW, Mini, Land Rover or Jaguar. 'At least if it was going to happen it's probably the best place in the world for it to happen. The MCA is here, the Oil Spill Response are here. 'There are many powerful tugs in Southampton which can be used to tow it - it's a big ship but it's an average size ship for Southampton. 'There are also big lifting cranes which can be used if they can get it in close enough.' Advertisement

A salvage tug lights the hull of the stricken Hoegh Osaka cargo ship after it ran aground on a sand bank in the Solent in Cowes, England

Hugh Shaw, of the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA), said this would determine whether the operation would need to refloat the vessel.

He said: 'The weather is looking favourable up to Wednesday. We will try to do as much assessment as we can before that time and put together a plan for moving the vessel.

'If the weather deteriorates we will looking to bring in other tugs to ensure 24/7 the vessel is held in position.'

Mr Shaw added it was likely that some of those vehicles had come loose. 'There is a high probability some cargo will have shifted. It is important we do know where the weights are.'

A Jaguar and Land Rover spokesman said that about 1,200 of its vehicles were on board the ship.

He said: 'We can confirm that we do have roughly 1,200 Jaguar and Land Rover products aboard the stricken ship.

‘Until such time as the salvage operation can safely begin, we can tell you nothing further about the implications for the cargo.

‘However, the most important consideration is that the crew are safe and well.'

A spokesman for JCB said it has 105 pieces of construction equipment on the carrier, including 50-tonne and 33-tonne tracked excavators.

'There are 105 JCB machines on board the grounded cargo ship which were destined for dealers in the Middle East.

Members of RNLI pictured as they inspect the listing Hoegh Osaka late last night. Twenty-five people were eventually rescued

‘We are awaiting further information from the shipping carrier about the current status of the machines and any plans they may have for retrieval.'

Air bags and a crane may be needed as part of the recovery operation and a decision will be taken on whether to remove the 1,400 vehicles it was carrying.

The MCA said the vessel was not in a shipping channel, so there was no impact on other ships in the area.

It has been estimated that the cost could run into tens of millions of pounds – and will soar further depending on the proportion of top-end cars.

BMW Group said it was checking to see if Rolls-Royces and Minis were on board.

Jaguar Land Rover, Honda and Bentley, which is owned by Volkswagen, all said they were also checking to see if they had cars on the ship

On Sunday an attempt to refloat the vessel failed, meaning it will remain stuck for at least another three days because the tides will not be high enough to re-float her.

Salvage experts lost a race against time as they unsuccessfully tried to re-float the huge ship using four tugs to pull it off the sandbank.

Svitzer has sent teams to the site and they are currently liaising with surveyors from the MCA who are on standby to assist with the operation.

It follows Saturday night's daring helicopter-led rescue of the 25-strong crew, which was assisted by RNLI lifeboats from Yarmouth, Calshot and Cowes.

A statement from the MCA added: 'The crew who were on board the car carrier Hoegh Osaka have all now been accounted for.

‘Some were airlifted off the ship by coastguard helicopter and others were rescued from the sea by the three lifeboats that were on scene.'

'The vessel's owners have appointed the salvage company Svitzer and a salvage team is on its way to the scene today to make an initial assessment.

'Salvage plans will be developed by Svitzer and reviewed by the Secretary of State's Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention, (SOSREP).

‘There is no impact on vessels transiting the Solent as the vessel is not within a shipping channel.'

National Maritime Operations Centre commander Steve Carson said: 'All of the crew have been accounted for and other then a couple of non life-threatening injuries, everyone is safe and well.'

Infrared images taken by the National Police Air Service last night show rescue ships (left) and a helicopter (right) during the rescue operation

The 180-metre long Singapore registered car transporter was en-route to Bremerhaven in Germany

A Yarmouth RNLI crew member was winched aboard the ship to help pull up casualties who were trapped on board.

Tom Pedersen, volunteer Calshot RNLI helmsman, said: 'This is not the sort of call-out you expect on a Saturday evening but we had a brilliant response from the RNLI volunteer crews and all the other agencies involved, resulting in the successful rescue of all the ship's crew.

'Fortunately, the rescue helicopters managed to winch most of the crew to safety in quite challenging conditions, while two people were rescued by the Calshot RNLI lifeboats.

‘One of them leaped around 8 metres from the ship into the water and was picked up immediately by our inshore lifeboat. The other was rescued from the bow of the ship.'

The ship was heading to the German port of Bremerhaven at the time of the incident. The vessel was built in 2000 and weighs 52,000 tonnes.

It is understood the cargo ship, which has a nine-metre draught, turned sharply to the left as it passed the notorious Bramble Bank sandbank near Cowes and ran aground.

Bramble Bank is a well-known sandbank in Southampton Water and is the scene of an annual cricket match between two yachting clubs when the sands are exposed in low spring tides.

In November 2008, the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 with 1,700 passengers on board ran aground on Bramble Bank but was able to continue its journey on the rising tide after four tugs pulled it clear.

The stricken carrier has become a tourist attraction with car parks along the coast filling up with people wishing to view it.

Hampshire police posted advice to motorists on Facebook warning them that the area had become 'extremely busy'.

They said: 'Good morning all, just a piece of friendly advice ... car parks along the coast by Calshot are extremely busy.

‘This is due to people being interested in seeing the car transporter ship which has run aground.