It does happen ............
Car Carrier Sinks off Dutch Coast with 1200 Mitsubishis Aboard
A car carrier transporting 1400 new cars, 1200 of which were Mitsubishis, sank off the coast of the Netherlands Wednesday night after a collision with another cargo ship. Five sailors were killed while another six are still missing and presumed dead, Reuters reports. The car carrier, the Baltic Ace, collided with the container ship Corvus J in conditions the Dutch Defense Ministry described as "treacherous." Panagiootis Kakoliris, a manager at the Greek company that managed the vessel, speculated that the Baltic Ace was likely hit in the side by Corvus J. The Baltic Ace sunk within 15 minutes of the collision. Kakoliris believes the crash was caused by human error. The Netherlands Coastguard managed to rescue 13 of the 24 members of the multi-national crew. Reuters reports that Dutch authorities won't launch a criminal investigation into the sinking because the accident took place outside of its territorial waters. The only way an investigation can be launched is if both the Bahamas and Cyprus, ports of registry for the Baltic Ace and Corvus J, respectively, ask the Netherlands to investigate.The Baltic Ace was bound for Finland with 1200 Mitsubishi models built in Japan and Thailand aboard. Those vehicles now sit 82-92 feet under the icy Baltic Sea. The Baltic Ace is reportedly insured for between $50 million and $60 million. We reached out to Mitsubishi for comment regarding the incident, and to find out how it will affect its European sales, but have yet to get a response as of press time.
Someone is blissfully unaware doing whatever it is that people do inside their mansions in the Middle East, excitedly waiting for news on the delivery of their new $300,000 Rolls Royce Wraith. Perhaps it is just one to add to their fleet of 50 Rolls Royce supercars they use to tote their pet lion around town in. At the same time, it’s turning out to not be a good day for the crew of the Hoegh Osaka cargo ship which has run aground off the coast of England, taking on huge amounts of water which has flooded the cargo hold, causing the ship to list dangerously to one side. The cargo? Approximately 1400 luxury vehicles including a fine selection of Rolls Royce, and Land Rover. Luckily the crew is safe, having been saved in a dramatic helicopter rescue, but the cars… not so much. We’ve got the whole story and incredible pictures!
The 590 foot long Singapore-registered Hoegh Osaka cargo ship had a rather uneventful launch, leaving port in Southampton, England just after 8PM in the evening on the 3rd of January 2015. On board were 1400 luxury cars including a fleet of Land Rovers, Jaguars, and Rolls Royce, with a combined estimated value of £30 million ($53 million USD). Not just luxury cars were on the manifest, but also tens of millions of dollars worth of heavy duty agricultural equipment bound for Germany. 45 minutes after her departure the ship began taking on water, listing dangerously to one side near the Isle of Wight in Hampshire. The ship capsizing has become inevitable at this point, as the cargo holds will continue to flood
Knowing that the ship will sink into the open waters of the Isle of Wright and potentially kill them all, the captain makes the perhaps life-saving decision to purposely run the ship aground. This action undoubtedly prevented the ship from being overtaken by water, and potentially saved the lives of some of the 25 crew on board. Not to mention prevented the cargo hold from completely flooding, so now a good chunk of Land Rover’s only have to have some rather serious dents buffed out! A rescue operation was launched, and the crew and captain were saved by helicopter. The ship itself wasn’t so lucky, as it continued to take on water and one of the cargo holds became completely flooded. Now the only problem is what to do with a massive cargo ship that is leaning over like a drunk frat boy outside of the club at 3AM.
Once rescue operations were over and done with, one of the UK’s leading maritime salvage firms was brought in to quickly plug the hole. The mission was to bring the ship somewhat upright, and tow it to shore. Some 3,000 tonnes of water flooded into the ship during the accident, and had to be pumped into empty fuel tanks on board the vessel to help bring it upright. Authorities made the decision to tow the stricken ship back to Southampton to begin rescue operations on the poor luxury vehicles trapped inside, all of which were feared to be destroyed. That of course would have dealt a serious blow anyone who had intended to purchase a shiny brand new car without having it smell like 3-day old supermarket sushi.
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200 Damaged Land Rovers
Despite some mishaps in bringing the ship ashore in Southampton (one of the salvage boats accidentally rammed the ship and punctured another hole in it, oops!) the Hoegh Osaka arrived in Southampton port upright. Authorities and company executives gained access to the cargo hold to survey the damage, finding nearly 200 completely battered and bruised Land Rovers which they plan to repair if possible. It was found that only the lowest cargo hold flooded, though no details have been released so far on how many cars would have been submerged and destroyed. The good news, though, if you are living in the area and are looking for a steal of a deal on a Jaguar, Land Rover, or Rolls Royce, you’ll likely be able drive away in (slightly damp) style!
