The 32 crew of a Danish cargo vessel on fire in the North Sea off Norway were trapped on board tonight as a storm prevented rescue helicopters lifting sailors off.

Three helicopters were scrambled from Norway to assist the Britannia Seaways, operated by the Danish firm DFDS, about 80 miles (130 km) off the town of Floroe, said Per Fjeld, a spokesman for Norway's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

"The first helicopter made an attempt to lift 12 of them but the attempt was abandoned because of bad weather," he said. "They are not in immediate danger."

The fire was confined to the rear of the ship and, while it was not spreading, attempts to put it out failed.

Nevertheless, the 11,000 deadweight tonne ship, carrying military equipment from northern Norway to Bergen, was still running under its own power.

"The weather is bad and that limits our options," Fjeld said.

A severe storm, with winds gusting up to 180 km per hour (110 mph) and waves up to 15 metres (50 feet) high, was moving across the Norwegian Sea on Saturday night, also creating rough conditions further south in the North Sea.