Höegh Osaka: Removed from the Cricket Pitch!

A drama played out rapidly as the Höegh Osaka, outbound from Southampton England to Bremerhaven Germany, became stricken Saturday Night.

The Pilot made a steely decision to ground the Pure Car/Truck Carrier on Bramble Bank in the Solent near the Isle of Wight, rather than allow her to flounder in the extremely busy shipping lane linking Southampton to the English Channel.

In a statement, Ingar Skiaker, CEO of Höegh Autoliners said: "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.

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

The crew of 24 plus the Channel Pilot were rescued, with only two minor injuries, which included a broken leg (falling down stairs.)

The Höegh Osaka remains grounded on her starboard (right) side on Bramble Bank at over a 50-degree list.

This was the scene folk at Cowes on the Isle of Wight awoke to on Sunday morning. Crew booked so fast that they left the radars running!

About 1,400 vehicles are on board the Höegh Osaka, including 1,200 Jaguars and Land Rovers. Jaguar Land Rover would not disclose their value but 1,200 of the cheapest models would be worth more than £35 million (USD52.8m) while 1,200 top of the range models could exceed £100 million, (USD1.5m.)

There are 65 Mini Coopers, and a Rolls Royce Wraith worth an estimated £260,000 (USD392,831), all destined for the Middle East, where the ship was headed after a planned stop at Bremerhaven.

A spokesman for JCB said there were 105 of their machines on board, destined for dealers in the Middle East. "We are awaiting further information from the shipping carrier about the current status of the machines and any plans they may have for retrieval," he said.

The extent of damage to the cargo is not yet known, according to Ingar Skiaker, CEO (chief executive officer) of Höegh Autoliners, which owns the vessel. No oil had leaked from the vessel and preventing any environmental impact was his key priority.

Particulars:
•  2000:  Launched in Japan as Maersk Wind
•  2011:  To Höegh Autoliners
•  Vessel type: PCTC (Pure Car Truck Carrier)
•  IMO: 9185463
•  Gross tonnage: 51,770 tons
•  Summer DWT: 16,886 tons
•  Length: 590 ft (180 m)
•  Beam: 105 ft (32 m)
•  Draft: 24 ft (7.4 m)
•  Power Plant: Mitsubishi 8UEC60LS, 19,140 pp (14,270 kW) driving a single shaft fixed pitch propeller.
•  Speed: 19.2 knots (35.6 km/h)
•  Crew: 24
•  CEU: 5,215

Like a TEU , 20 foot equivalent unit, is a measurement of how many containers a container vessel can carry, a CEU or car-equivalent-unit is the standard unit of measure for roll-on/roll-off ships and car carriers.

This measurement is based on the dimensions of a 1966 Toyota Corolla, model RT43.

Therefore, CEU RT43 is 13.5 feet (4125 mm) x 5 feet (1550 mm) x 4.6 feet (1400 mm). The ground space required for a CEU RT43 is approximately 69 sq ft (6.4 sqm) and the ground slot, including spacing in between vehicles is 80 sq ft (7.4 sqm.)

So, a vessel with a capacity of 1000 CEU can stow 1000 vehicles of the 1966 Toyota Corolla model RT43 size.

Amazing Choreography! At 2:10 notice van picking up drivers. When you have hundreds of cars to load, speed is of the essence. Every minute a ship has lines on the quay, money is burning up.

The salvage master who coordinated the re-floating of the Costa Concordia, Capt. Nicholas Sloan, is in charge of salvaging the Hoegh Osaka. Late today, the vessel was moved to a safe location for further evaluation.

The vessel unexpectedly drifted free of Bramble Bank this afternoon, and was towed to a location known as "Alpha Anchorage."

Indications are that something went awry with the ballast system causing the vessel to begin heeling over.  You may recall that caused the PCC Cougar Ace to heel over in the North Pacific several years ago.

BBC Update 8/25/2019

The stoic BBC put together a complete review of the incident, including her amazing return to Southampton.

Site of deliberate grounding

Oddly, the Bramble sand bank hosts the annual cricket match between the Island Sailing Club and the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Once a year during low spring tides, and for less than an hour, the tide exposes the sand bank creating an unusual cricket venue.