There are 1400 cars inside this grounded ship

Here's the good news: the BBC reports that salvage crews have reached a badly listing car transporter that was intentionally grounded near Southhampton in the U.K. yesterday evening, and they're assessing options to right the ship and (perhaps) recover its cargo of vehicles.

The bad news? The cars and trucks inside are almost certainly badly damaged due to the severe angle the ship is listing at. And these aren't beaters off to be sold in some impoverished nation; the Hoegh Osaka was full of new premium vehicles like Jaguars, Land Rovers, and Minis.

The ship was carrying approximately 1400 cars—about 1200 Jaguar/Land Rover products and 65 Minis among them—and some construction equipment when, after leaving port, it developed a severe list. To prevent the ship from overturning completely, the crew grounded the vessel off the Isle of Wight, a short distance away. The crew were rescued, but the ship was left on a bank at a severe 45-degree angle.

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