If you’re in Germany and were hotly awaiting your 2015 Jaguar F-Type, your wait got a little longer. The 57,000-ton, 590-foot car transporter, the Hoegh Osaka, ran aground on Bramble Bank, a sandbar near the British port of Southampton. And it was beached on purpose.
The Hoegh Osaka was bound for Germany and contained heavy equipment, as well as about 1,400 cars and SUVs, the bulk of which came from Jaguar and Land Rover. According to the New York Times, the ship contained no Bentleys, and just one $375,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith.
The crew beached the vessel on purpose because it began listing dangerously, to the point that it may have capsized had the crew not run it aground. The entire crew was airlifted to safety.
“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,” Mr. Skiaker told reporters. “This showed great skill and seamanship on behalf of our crew when faced with such challenging circumstances.”
“Our chief concern now is to ensure there is no environmental damage from this incident,” Mr. Skiaker said. “There is no oil spill reported at this point. However, we understand that the U.K. authorities have brought their spill response to a state of active readiness.”
