Crew of 51,000-tonne car carrier Hoegh Osaka intentionally grounded the ship to prevent it from capsizing

#HoeghOsaka #BrambleBank #carcarrier It was the 180-metre long Hoegh Osaka – a 51,000-tonne car carrier loaded with 1400 cars and. In order to prevent it from capsizing, the captain and master of the ship took a decision to intentionally ground it.
The car carrier was grounded on a sandbank by its crew because it was severely listing and could have capsized. The owner of the ship has praised the pilot and master for "saving" the vessel and crew by grounding the ship, and showed "great skill".
Experts will now board the ship and in the next few days will work out strategies to right and refloat it. This could take a longtime, probably weeks.
The ship was reported to be carrying cargo including 1,400 cars and 70-80 pieces of construction equipment and it ran aground between Southampton and the Isle of Wight in one of the country's busiest shipping lanes.
The ship had 24 crew members who, along with the pilot, were rescued by a coastguard helicopter and lifeboats after the vessel became stricken on Bramble Bank in the Solent. Two of the crew suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital – one of them is believed to have a broken leg.
Reports indicate that the Singapore-registered ship had begun to list severely after it left port in Southampton and is still listing "quite badly" at 52 degrees.