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Cargo ship carrying 1,200 Jaguars and Land Rovers deliberately run aground [w/video]

A cargo ship carrying a load of new cars out of Southampton has run aground in the English Channel in between England and the Isle of Wight. The vessel apparently suffered some sort of failure just 45 minutes after leaving port that caused it to list heavily to the starboard side before the crew deliberately beached it on Bramble Bank to prevent the ship from capsizing altogether. The vessel, called the Hoegh Osaka, is a 590-foot car carrier weighing some 57,000 tons and registered in Singapore. Although several automakers (including Honda and Bentley) were reportedly looking into whether they had cars on board, the vessel is said to have been filled to approximately one-third its capacity, with 1,400 vehicles on board – including 1,200 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, 65 Mini models and one Rolls-Royce Wraith. 70 to 80 pieces of construction equipment were also said to be on board. The Hoegh Osaka was en route from the southern British port of Southampton to Bremerhaven, Germany. Fortunately, no major injuries have been reported. The crew was mostly airlifted by helicopter off of the beached ship, with two crew members evacuated by lifeboat. One crew member reportedly jumped over 25 feet off the ship into the water before being immediately retrieved by rescue workers. According to the Daily Mail, two crew members were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, including a broken leg. It may take several days, if not longer, to extract the vessel from the sand bank and ascertain the damage to the ship and its cargo. An early attempt to free the ship with tugboats failed, meaning that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency may have to wait until more favorable high tides to try again before towing the ship back into the port. Bramble Bank, where the vessel was run aground, is a well-known obstacle to maritime navigators. The Queen Elizabeth 2 ran aground there in November 2008 with 1,700 passengers on board, but was quickly freed by four tugboats and was able to continue on its way. Two local yacht clubs also play a cricket match there every year at low tide. The vessel's operator, Hoegh Autoliners, praised the skill and quick thinking of the crew in acting to prevent the ship's capsizing by running her aground on the soft, sandy shoal. Watch the clip below for aerial footage of the beached ship, courtesy of the BBC. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

'Top Gear' episode 4 recap | A road trip through Borneo

Episode four of "Top Gear" season 27 is officially in the books, and if you like Freddie and Paddy, you probably enjoyed this one. The two went on a hell of an adventure through Borneo, but didn’t bring Chris Harris along for the ride. Maybe we were just getting accustomed to the three of them hanging out together, but the trip felt like it was missing something without Chris. Regardless, the feature film of this episode revolved around Freddie and Paddy driving the cheapest, rarest cars they could find. They bought them in Europe, then drove all throughout the island of Borneo, eventually reaching Brunei. Freddie got himself an Austin Allegro Estate, while Paddy made do with a Matra Bagheera S. If you had to look those cars up, we donÂ’t blame you. TheyÂ’re both rather obscure models, so itÂ’s safe to say they hit their mark on the rare requirement. Back at home base in England, Chris says he was reviewing a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Funnily enough, Rolls wouldnÂ’t loan a Cullinan to "Top Gear" to test, so they had to go out and borrow one for the review. After listening to ChrisÂ’ thoughts on the SUV, it starts to become clear why Rolls may not have wanted the exposure. We wonÂ’t give it all away, but letÂ’s just say that the ultra-luxury ute didnÂ’t receive the most glowing of reviews. Bob Mortimer was the celebrity guest, so there were plenty of laughs to be had in his segment. He wasnÂ’t exactly fast in any of the car challenges, but the entertainment factor was certainly present with him cracking jokes. Even though the Borneo trip wasnÂ’t exactly the same without Chris, the other two managed quite well on their own. Freddie ate a live bug, and the mid-engine Matra made it to the end against all odds. Perhaps itÂ’s a testament to the companyÂ’s history of weathering tough conditions — Matra did win Le Mans three times throughout its history after all. At the very end of the episode, the boys made an admirable gesture by speaking out against the Sultan of BruneiÂ’s horrific laws against homosexual relations. They said that the filming for the episode occurred before the Sultan announced the new laws, and if "Top Gear" had known these rules would be enacted beforehand, they wouldnÂ’t have featured Borneo in their film. In response, Freddie and Paddy modified their Borneo rides with an epic paint job as a form of protesting the anti-gay laws. Good on ya, "Top Gear." Featured Gallery Top Gear episode 4 photos TV/Movies Rolls-Royce Top Gear

This exploding Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is angering, mesmerizing

Between Las Vegas and the emirates of the Persian Gulf, we're sure there are Rolls-Royces to be found in the desert all the time. And we don't doubt that, given those locations, one gets torched every so often. There'd probably even be someone in a tuxedo or evening gown running for cover when it happens, too. The thing is that we're seldom if ever there to watch it go down, much less capture it in stunning high-definition, frame-by-frame video when it does.
That's where this four-minute clip by Tyler Shields comes in. The American photographer and filmmaker staged and captured this Silver Shadow being doused in gasoline (or at least what we're supposed to believe is gasoline) and set afire in the Mojave Desert, along with actor Cru Ennis and actress Ana Mulvoy-Ten.
It's heartbreaking but mesmerizing, and you'll want to watch the video for yourself to see which side you fall on. If it's the former, take solace at least in the fact that the Silver Shadow is far from a rare beast. In fact, it remains by far the most prolific Rolls-Royce ever, with over 30,000 made between 1965 and 1980... so we doubt this one will be missed terribly.