Sailors on an out-of-control cargo vessel near the Hebrides could do nothing yesterday but watch the rough seas and gathering darkness as they waited for rescue.

The Wilson Gdynia’s eight-man crew sent a distress signal to Stornoway Coastguard just before 10.30am, reporting that they had developed a steering fault in the Atlantic ocean, around 20 miles west of Skerryvore Lighthouse in the Inner Hebrides.

Coastguard watch manager Carol Collins told reporters the 88-metre ship — weighing 3,600 tonnes and drifting towards the rocks around Tiree and Mull — still had power and a tug was on its way to tow the ship to safety, expected to arrive some time last night.

But the weather remained “a concern,” with gale-force winds and high seas, and lifeboats were standing by.

The crew are understood to be Russian nationals, while the Wilson Gdynia is registered in Barbados.