MORE than £30m worth of top-of-the-range cars and equipment are on board the grounded Hoegh Osaka.

About 1,200 Jaguars and Land Rovers, more than £1m of new Minis and “millions of pounds worth” of JCB construction equipment inlcuding diggers weighing up to 55 tonnes are on board the stricken vessel.

A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover confirmed to the Daily Echo that its cars and 4x4s form the majority of the 1,400 vehicles and pieces of equipment on board the ship.

He said: “We can confirm that we have roughly 1,200 Jaguar and Land Rover products aboard the stricken ship.

“Until such time as the salvage operation can safely begin, we can tell you nothing further about the implications for the cargo.

“However, the most important consideration is that the crew are safe and well.”

Daily Echo:

The spokesman did not disclose the value of the shipment but the value of the vehicles is estimated to be at least £27m.

Daily Echo:

Sixty five BMW Minis, worth about £1.3m and destined for the Middle East, were also on board the vessel when it ran aground.

A spokesman for the company said: “I can confirm that there are 65 Minis on board and they are destined for the Middle East.

“We don't have any further information at this stage.”

And Hoegh Osaka's cargo also included 105 JCB machines, also on their way to the Middle East.

They included machines for use on building sites such as backhoes, Loadhall telescopic handlers, wheeled loading shovels, Teletruk forklifts and tracked excavators weighing up to 50 tonnes.

A JCB spokesman said: "There are 105 JCB machines on board the grounded cargo ship which were destined for dealers in the Middle East.

"We are awaiting further information from the shipping carrier about the current status of the machines and any plans they may have for retrieval."

Daily Echo:

The spokesman added that the value “will run into millions of pounds”.