A 27 year old Russian general cargo ship with 13 crew onboard is listing heavily off Portsmouth and is in danger of sinking.
UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) tugs are on standby after plans to tow the 2,500-gt ship into the nearby port of Southampton had to be suspended due to poor weather.
There were hopes the vessel could be taken into Southampton by this afternoon.
The ship was heading to Warren Point in Northern Ireland from Riga when it ran into trouble.
Mekhanik Yartsev was built in 1990 but appears to be in good condition for its age.
It was last inspected by port state control back in late August this year at the port of Nantes France but no deficiencies were detected.
It is classed by the Russian Register of Shipping and is insured by the UK P&I Club. It is managed by Arkhangelsk based manager Northern Shipping.
The vessel was safely towed to Southampton Thursday.
