As Hurricane Gonzalo tore towards the Island, the crew of the Bermuda Islander were involved in a dramatic rescue out at sea.

The container ship had left Bermuda early to avoid the Category 3 hurricane, but changed course to come to the aid of a stricken sailboat.

The yacht, Troll, got into difficulties at around 10am on Friday some 200 miles north west of Bermuda and the two-strong crew wanted to abandon their vessel.

The Bermuda Islander was first to arrive at the yacht’s location and relayed valuable data back to the Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre to help co-ordinate the rescue.

A second ship, HW Birch, that was on its way from the US to Europe also joined in the operation.

Due to the bad weather conditions the Bermuda Islander was unable to pull up alongside the sailboat.

However, the BW Birch was fully loaded and lower in the water, and was able to come alongside Troll at 2.25pm.

At 4.55pm the uninjured crew members were plucked to safety in winds of force five with a four- to five-metre swell.

The BW Birch resumed her journey to Vlissingen, Netherlands with the two rescued sailors, while the Bermuda Islander continued her journey to New Jersey.

Denis Rowe, Chief Maritime Operations Controller, praised the crews of both rescue vessels for their actions.

“The Bermuda Islander and the BW Burch should be commended for their efforts during this very difficult rescue,” he said.

“The Islander’s ability to find the vessel and relay information was crucial to the co-ordination of the operation. Both ships performed extremely professionally in very tough conditions.”