Large marine vehicle carrier aground in Solent.

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:08 pm

I believe the name of the vessel is Hoegh Osaka (Singapore Flag) headed for Bremerhaven out of Southampton, but the Captain has deliberately run it onto a sandbank in order to save the crew. The vessel is at present leaning at 45 degrees. I believe it is fully laden with vehicles, which may have shifted in the hold. This vessel is 179.9 metres long by 32.2 metres width and is 51,770 gross tonnage - quite a large vessel. She has full fuel, so they have quite a problem trying to right the ship without causing fuel to leak into the Solent. I checked on the website www.marine traffic.com (Live Ships Map - AIS ). The vessel seems to be between Calshot on the mainland and Cowes I.O.W. There appears to be a tug in attendance under a British Flag called Svitzer Sarah.

Thought FourPart may be able to have a look at it, unless he is working. I expect there will be an update on BBC News tomorrow.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:24 pm

My window looks straight onto its berth. Beside it is the Cunard berth.

As it happens, one of the last jobs I applied for (and was asked for an interview for, which I was, by then, able to turn down) was as a driver to load the cars on & off the transporters.

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:35 pm

FourPart;1470796 wrote: My window looks straight onto its berth. Beside it is the Cunard berth.

As it happens, one of the last jobs I applied for (and was asked for an interview for, which I was, by then, able to turn down) was as a driver to load the cars on & off the transporters.

What a fascinating place to live in, FourPart. Can't help feeling a little envious of you ! I love all things about the sea and it is my ambition to move to a bungalow with views across the sea. I already have the telescope and the binoculars, all I need now is the lottery win to provide the money to buy the seaside bungalow ! :wah:

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:58 pm

G#Gill;1470797 wrote: What a fascinating place to live in, FourPart. Can't help feeling a little envious of you ! I love all things about the sea and it is my ambition to move to a bungalow with views across the sea. I already have the telescope and the binoculars, all I need now is the lottery win to provide the money to buy the seaside bungalow ! :wah:

There's some pics on my website, although ever since the building renovations these need updating. However, in the pic lookng upstream, you can can just about see the ship in question, moored in its usual berth (not very good quality pics, I'm afraid):

FourPart's Website

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:09 pm

FourPart;1470799 wrote: There's some pics on my website, although ever since the building renovations these need updating. However, in the pic lookng upstream, you can can just about see the ship in question, moored in its usual berth (not very good quality pics, I'm afraid):

FourPart's Website

Sorry FourPart, but I could only see pics of the choir!

Post by **LarsMac** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:34 pm

G#Gill;1470804 wrote: Sorry FourPart, but I could only see pics of the choir!

All I could see was pictures of Fourpart.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:10 pm

I've just been to the website and had a horrible shock.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:32 am

G#Gill;1470804 wrote: Sorry FourPart, but I could only see pics of the choir!
Odd - I just tested it & it goes to the right place. I had checked the link to the choir before posting & thought I may have posted that instead, but the link opens a different window entirely. Mind you, it's an old site & it may have been using Frames, which includes a column of links to the left. That could be a problem in some browsers, although I just tried it in IE & that works ok. Did you click on the "My Neighbourhood" link?

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:01 am

Laden with Vauxhalls or in-transit from the U.S.A.?

TAKE NOTE ANNE: You see ......... I can name the U.S. with nary a disparaging word.

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:40 am

The vessel has 1400 vehicles (probably cars) and 80 large pieces of equipment on board. The vessel started to list whilst it was under way so the skipper decided to ground it as a precaution and to save the crew. Salvage people are investigating the situation to try to organise a rescue with the minimum of disruption or pollution. The vessel is listing at 52 degrees so making moving about on board very difficult. This could be ongoing for quite some time !

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:08 am

Why not just put a link on ? Plenty of them available on the web.

BBC News - Hoegh Osaka cargo ship 'grounded deliberately' in Solent

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:04 am

Reminds me of this that was washed up on Brighton Beach In 1980. The town became a tourist hot spot. At first It was a novelty and then It became a nuisance due to the huge amounts of tourists flocking to the promenade to have a look. Made us late for Brighton race course one morning,

Attempt to refloat the Athina B

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:15 am

G#Gill;1470842 wrote: The vessel has 1400 vehicles (probably cars) and 80 large pieces of equipment on board. The vessel started to list whilst it was under way so the skipper decided to ground it as a precaution and to save the crew. Salvage people are investigating the situation to try to organise a rescue with the minimum of disruption or pollution. The vessel is listing at 52 degrees so making moving about on board very difficult. This could be ongoing for quite some time !
Local News (Radio Solent) had the Harbour Master in the studio & he said it was the Pilot that deliberately ran it aground in order to save the crew of 25. An amazingly small crew for such a Leviathan of a ship. As he described it, just the hold is equivalent to a 9 - 10 storey multi-storey car park (that doesn't take into consideration the upper decks), with cars parked less than a hand's width between wing mirrors. He suspects that the cause may have been due to badly packed containers which may have had barrels of liquid in, as containers are sealed units & other that C.o.S.H.H. labelling there's no indication of what's in the containers or how it's packaged.

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:58 pm

That's interesting, FourPart, thank you. Also I found out that there are over 100 JCB diggers ! I don't suppose they will be washed up ashore should the ship develop some sort of gaping hole ! Somebody has got a headache to sort out ! What a huge ship !

Hey, did somebody mention posting a link ?

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:09 pm

G#Gill;1470874 wrote:

Hey, did somebody mention posting a link ?

Bramble Bank: The danger lurking beneath the sea (From Daily Echo)

When asked to confirm that there was likely to be 10s of Millions of pounds worth of cargo on board, he replied, "No. It often carries luxury yachts as well, and a single yacht can cost a couple of million. The entire cargo is more likely to go into the 100s or even 1000s of Millions".

There are frequently massive freight trains that transport the vehicles down to the docks. The trains are stacked up to 5 cars high, and a single train can often take up to about 20 minutes to pass the crossing.

FG-administator · Post by **FG-administator** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:16 pm

The Queen Elizabeth is docking in Southampton sometime before dawn, I wonder whether the full moon is enough to see the cargo ship as it passes.

I've only been to Southampton three times. Once I saw the QE2 preparing for her maiden voyage, once I saw a statue to Isaac Watts and a third time I cleaned water out of a carburetor on an old VW.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:40 am

The transporter is in clear view of all shipping traffic, as the Solent is a very narrow stretch of water, with the shoers of both the mainland & the Isle of Wight clearly visible on either side. The ship was lilting putting the ship & its cargo in danger so the pilot, knowing the topography of the waters diverted it from the busy shipping lanes in order to run it aground of the safest sandbank possible, where it would do least damage.

If you look at the pictures, you will see one large chimney on the land, which is lit by red lights. That is Calshot Spit, which juts out at hte point where the Southampton Water meets the Solent. If it weren't for this spit being in the way, the ship would be in plain view of where I am, if I were to wander down to the shore. As it is, if I were to go down there at night, the chances are that I would still be able to see the lights glowing from behind it.

I presume that's the Queen Elizabeth I can see in dock at the moment. The grain silos are hiding the distinctive red funnel, so it's not possible to be certain, as most of the Cruise Liners look very similar, and the P&O liners use the same berth.

Isaac Watts - Watts Park, behind the Civic Centre. A tribute to the preacher of St. Andrews Church in The Avenue, where I have performed on many occasions. Writer of "Onward Christian Soldiers", and many other popular hymns.

FG-administator · Post by **FG-administator** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:51 am

FourPart;1470903 wrote: Writer of "Onward Christian Soldiers", and many other popular hymns.
Good lord, I do hope he didn't, that was lots later. From memory it was that odd Victorian chappie who wrote it to march his congregation round the church, rats I really ought to have his name spring into my mind. I'm going to have to look it up and then kick myself... Sabine Baring-Gould, "English Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar".

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:27 am

FG;1470904 wrote: Good lord, I do hope he didn't, that was lots later. From memory it was that odd Victorian chappie who wrote it to march his congregation round the church, rats I really ought to have his name spring into my mind. I'm going to have to look it up and then kick myself... Sabine Baring-Gould, "English Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar".
Absolutely (I wondered whowould be the first one to spot that). I have no idea why I thought he wrote Onward Christian Soldiers. He did, however, write a lot of other ones, including "Joy To The World" (based on Handel's original).

Isaac Watts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FG-administator · Post by **FG-administator** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:28 pm

FourPart;1470903 wrote: I presume that's the Queen Elizabeth I can see in dock at the moment. The grain silos are hiding the distinctive red funnel, so it's not possible to be certain, as most of the Cruise Liners look very similar, and the P&O liners use the same berth.The Arcadia came in at the same time and berthed at the end of Test Road, the Queen Elizabeth was just further north alongside Ocean Road - I've no idea whether there's more appropriate names for those parts of the dock. They weren't much distant from each other though.

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:43 pm

FG;1470934 wrote: The Arcadia came in at the same time and berthed at the end of Test Road, the Queen Elizabeth was just further north alongside Ocean Road - I've no idea whether there's more appropriate names for those parts of the dock. They weren't much distant from each other though.

Both vessels appear to have left again, as there is no sign of them on the Live Ships Map AIS - Marine Traffic.com

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:53 pm

FG;1470934 wrote: The Arcadia came in at the same time and berthed at the end of Test Road, the Queen Elizabeth was just further north alongside Ocean Road - I've no idea whether there's more appropriate names for those parts of the dock. They weren't much distant from each other though.

They both appear to have left. There are no ships moored at these locations, according to Marine Traffic AIS but they were earlier today !

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:37 am

A planned salvage attempt was abandoned today, when at high tide the Hoegh Osaka,

huge vehicle transporter apparently refloated herself ! There are now several large tugs towing this vessel, still in a listing state, towards Gosport where there is deeper water and more suitable for careful inspection. Good luck to all involved !

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:48 pm

It a sign of Our Lord Jesus. Ave maria! :yh_angel

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 12:47 am

The chaos that might have resulted had it not been deliberately beached doesn't bear thinking about, as the primary shipping lane itself is very narrow. Southampton is the only port in the world to have 2 tides a day, due to the presence of the Isle of Wight which is, not surprisingly, why it is such an important port. As well as transporters, such as this, there are regular container ships, up to 4 times its size going up & down the channel, as well as all the cruise liners. And that's just the impact it would have had on Southampton. It would also have caused a great deal of disruption to Portsmouth (although Portsmouth tends to use the Eastern course of the Solent more).

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 1:57 am

Incidentally, I just came across this YouTube video which includes one of the trains crossing the road into the docks as it brings in the loads of cars for shipment. The actual train part of the video starts at about 5 mins.

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 12:55 pm

FourPart;1470799 wrote: There's some pics on my website, although ever since the building renovations these need updating. However, in the pic lookng upstream, you can can just about see the ship in question, moored in its usual berth (not very good quality pics, I'm afraid):

FourPart's Website

My favorite thing about this thread was coming across your webpage. NIce! Did you take those pictures?

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 3:47 pm

flopstock;1473558 wrote: My favorite thing about this thread was coming across your webpage. NIce! Did you take those pictures?
Yep - just a little wander with my phone, taking snaps - nothing special. Actually, I really need to do another wander sometime. There's been quite a few major changes on the estate since I took those last set of pics.