Construction in the Middle East may feel a pinch in heavy machinery after a ship carrying 105 pieces of equipment from British manufacturer JCB ran aground off the English coast on 3 January.
The vehicle-laden vessel Hoegh Osaka was run deliberately into a sand bank near the Isle of Wight when it began listing just after leaving Southampton port.
Millions of pounds worth of JCB construction machinery destined for JCB dealers in the Middle East are now stranded.Â
Salvage workers were finally able to board the vessel on 5 January to assess the state of the ship and its £100m plus cargo.
"We are awaiting further information from the shipping carrier about the current status of the machines and any plans they may have for retrieval," a JCB spokesman said.
The cargo includes 50-tonne and 33-tonne tracked excavators among a shipment of 105 items of construction plant also made up of backhoe loaders, Loadall telescopic handlers and wheeled loading shovels. Also on board are around 1400 cars.
The new machines were manufactured at factories in Staffordshire, England, and had already been sold, according to some reports.
