There were some tense moments on the West End docks last night as, aided by tug boats, the Norwegian freighter Scan Baltic made her way into Dockyard and into the history books as the first ship to dock at night.

But by 10 last night, under the watchful eye of Harbour Master Leonard DeSilva and Captain Kenneth Todd on board the tug boat Powerful, the 10,000-tonne cargo ship was safely berthed.

Powerful was called out on Monday afternoon when a distress call came in from the Scan Baltic as she made her way home from Haiti.

She was dead in the water and drifting about 90 miles out to sea after her engines completely failed.

But the rescue mission started off badly as Powerful experienced her own set of problems and had to return to Bermuda on Monday night.

Acting Dockyard Superintendent Jerome Robinson said it was only the next evening that Powerful made her way out once again to meet up with Scan Baltic.

Powerful's captain and crew successfully joined up with the drifting cargo ship at about 3 a.m yesterday and started the long, slow journey back to the Island.

“When they called me at 6 a.m. (Wednesday) they were still 50 miles out,” Mr. Robinson said last night.

Earlier in the evening, Mr. De Silva and his crew were convinced that the cargo ship would drop anchor out at sea and wait until this morning before coming in to dock.

He was as surprised as most residents in the West End who turned out to watch, as the tug boats brought their “catch” home so late at night.

“It's a good training exercise,” Mr. Robinson said.

He added that everyone was “a little worried” as the cargo ship entered the channel at about 7 p.m. and slowly made her way towards Dockyard.

He said it was the first time a ship had been brought in to dock at night and the team from Marine and Ports Services was nervous as the huge container ship began making her way through the piers at Dockyard and slowly started moving into place.

It was already quite dark, and with no lights on the dock, the team moved quickly to catch the lines being thrown from the Scan Baltic.

Their crew lined the top of the ship and watched as the team from Marine and Ports worked to get them safely berthed.

The Norwegian flag flapped in the breeze that had picked up earlier in the evening. Just above this flapped the Bermudian flag.

After a few attempts, they had the lines tied and the Powerful and Stowe, a second tugboat which joined the mission, did the rest.

Mr. Robinson said he was proud of the Powerful which was one of the first tugboats ever purchased in Bermuda in the late 1980s.

He was also proud of Capt. Todd and his crew on board the Powerful.

“You see, it can be done,” he said.

By 10 p.m. quite a crowd had gathered to watch as the cargo ship, with all her lights blazing, finally came to a stop.

Capt. Todd and his crew were planning on sleeping - after almost 27 hours on the go, he and his men were exhausted.

The Scan Baltic will remain at Dockyard until the needed repairs on the engines can be completed.