An interim report into the grounding of the Hoegh Osaka off East Cowes in January 2015 has been released by the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch.
Island Echo was the first news source in the world to report the grounding of the Hoegh Osaka on 3rd January last year, when lifeboats from Yarmouth, Cowes and Calshot were launched to the area of Bramble Bank alongside Coastguard Rescue 104 helicopter.
The report confirms that at 21:09, as the Hoegh Osaka was rounding West Bramble buoy in The Solent, it developed a significant starboard list causing some cargo shift and consequent flooding. With the list in excess of 40°, the ship lost steerage and propulsion, and subsequently drifted onto Bramble Bank, grounding at 21:15.
25 people were on board the pure car and truck carrier, many of which were winched off the stricken vessel by helicopter. One person sustained a serious injury in the incident.
The Hoegh Osaka was headed for Bremerhaven in Germany.
The draft of the investigation’s final report has been sent to stakeholders for a 30 day period of consultation and will be published by March 2016.
The full report into the collapse of Wightlink’s deck collapse in July 2014 is yet to be released.
