Edinburgh - A major rescue operation was ordered last night after a 10,000-tonne tanker lost power and started drifting off the northern tip of Scotland. Coastguards issued a mayday for ships in the area to go to the aid of the Maltese-registered Yusup K after its engines and steering failed five miles from Holburn Head near Thurso in Caithness.
With a Force Eight southeasterly gale blowing the vessel with 26 crew on board was being blown away from the mainland. Early today a tug from Scrapa Flow was alongside and had attached a line to the ship while engineers tried to restart its engines.