#Rescue - Salvage teams have at last started to tow the stranded vehicle-carrier Hoegh Osaka, which is heading back to Southampton, reports BBC News.

The degree of list on the 51,770-tonne ship has been reduced substantially, allowing the vessel to be towed.

Earlier than planned, she is being towed up Southampton Water to Berth 101 at Southampton Docks. 

Only yesterday afternoon, salvage teams announced a 'weather window' of 48 hours to ready the vessel and prepare the tow to the port from where she departed earlier this month and subsequently grounded in the Solent.

It transpired she was deliberately run aground on a sandbank due to difficulities leading to the ship to list. This led the crew to take action in preventing the ship to sink in the channel. 

#SolentGrounding- Poor weather is hampering operations to right the listing car-transporter Hoegh Osaka, reports BBC News.

Up to 3,000 tonnes of water is being pumped out of the hold of the cargo ship which ran aground in the Solent.

The Hoegh Osaka has been secured two miles (3.2km) east of the Bramble Bank sandbank from which as previously reported the vessel had freed itself on Wednesday.

Salvors said they were confident a "thin film of oil" on the water could be contained within the ship.

A spokesman for owners Hoegh Autoliners said work could be slowed down by forecast bad weather.

The 51,000-tonne vehicle transporter "refloated" itself unexpectedly at 14:00 GMT due to the high tide.

It was towed two miles east of Bramble Bank, where it was grounded on Saturday, and is being held by tugs between Cowes and Lee-on-Solent.

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