The likely cause of the crash which saw a giant car transporter run aground on a notorious sandbank in the Solent can be revealed today.

The stricken ship Hoegh Osaka was likely to have suffered a mechanical malfunction that caused it to ground, it is believed.

Footage from the RNLI whose rescue boats were quickly on the scene shows the car carrier was already listing before it hit Bramble Bank last night.

Shipping experts say that indicates there was a technical problem and that the incident was unlikely to be human error.

The ship had a local pilot aboard who would have been well aware of the bank, the best-known hazard in The Solent.

The carrier was carrying several thousand vehicles from Southampton to Bremerhaven in north Germany.

The docks mainly ship makes such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover, Rolls Royces Bentley, Minis and Honda as well as New Holland tractors.

The value of the vehicles would be in the tens of millions of pounds.

They are all lashed down so should not currently have been damaged. But the listing of the ship will be placing huge strain on the ties.

AN ABP spokesperson said this afternoon that the Hoegh Osaka had a pilot on the ship at the time of the incident.

In a statement, ABP said: “All shipping visiting the Port of Southampton that is over 61 metres in length has an ABP pilot on board.

“All ABP pilots are highly qualified expert mariners with a detailed knowledge of the navigation channels to and from the port.”