Bonga heads back to Tyneside

The Bonga set off from South Korea in June

A giant oil and gas production platform is returning to the North East coast after taking refuge in the sea off Holland.

The 300 metre-long Bonga floating oil platform is due to sail up the River Tyne for a £300m refit at the Amec yard in Wallsend, North Tyneside.

But bad weather last month forced the 300,000 tonne Bonga to sail over the North Sea and take shelter off Rotterdam.

A spokesman for Shell told BBC News Online she was expected to arrive off the North East coast on Tuesday night at the earliest.

Bonga hotline

He said: "Better weather has been forecast, so we are hoping the Bonga will get up the Tyne as soon as possible.

"Again, it all depends on weather and tidal conditions."

The platform, which is roughly the size of three football pitches, will stay on Tyneside for about a year as part of a £300m refit before being taken to the Nigerian Bonga oilfield.

Engineering firm Amec has set up a Bonga hotline for members of the public to keep in touch with its progress.