A giant oil tanker was last night heading to the rescue of a 49-foot catamaran in trouble north-east of Bermuda.

According to a spokesman for Bermuda Maritime Operations centre, the catamaran, named Remedy, lost its mast due to a structural fault.

It was 273 nautical miles off the Island's north-east coast last night.

However, it is running out of fuel, and only has enough for around 100 miles.

The 898-foot tanker, named Serenea, is en-route to the Island for a crew change.

However, last night it was diverting towards the catamaran to give it some fuel, with the rendezvous scheduled for the early hours of this morning.

The catamaran, which has three French sailors aboard, will then continue to Bermuda where it's expected to arrive in the next two days. It's ultimate destination is Newport, Rhode Island, while the tanker is headed to Port Arthur, Texas.