Cargo ship sinks with 2,800 cars

A 50,000 tonne cargo ship carrying more than 2,800 brand new cars sank in the English Channel early yesterday morning after colliding with another vessel.

The Tricolor, a Norwegian-registered car carrier, had 2,862 cars on board as well as 77 containers, when it collided with the Kariba, a container ship, in thick fog 30 miles east of Ramsgate at around 1.30am. It took just 90 minutes to sink.

The Tricolor is worth 25m. Its cargo of BMWs, Saabs and Volvos could be worth around 70m at showroom prices. The ship was en route for Southampton from Zeebrugge.