The first tug boat will not reach the location until 1500 GMT on Tuesday, the agency reports.

FORBES: Fire Breaks Out on Costa Cruise Ship, Vessel Adrift in Indian Ocean

Morgan Parry of the World Wildlife Fund Cymru said the tug boat would increase preparations for a major incident.

BBC: Tug plan marks Empress disaster

Police said the vessel suffered "significant damage" and that a tug boat had been sent overnight from Invergordon to tow it to port.

BBC: Vos Sailor: Salvage attempt after crewman's death

They then hire a tug boat, often from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, which they take further north up the coast towards Somali waters.

BBC: Guns and soldiers on the high seas

But the fire knocked out the ship's propulsion system and left the vessel slowly drifting in the Gulf until a second tug boat arrived Tuesday.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Stiehl identified the 47-foot tug boat as the Shanon E.

NPR: Blaze Erupts After Tug Hits Pipeline On La. Bayou

LAFITTE, La. (AP) A tug boat pushing an oil barge struck a gas pipeline in a bayou south of New Orleans on Tuesday night, igniting a blaze that burned for hours and left four people injured, one severely.

NPR: Blaze Erupts After Tug Hits Pipeline On La. Bayou