An operation is underway to tow a cargo ship that had been drifting towards rocks amid wild seas near Sydney to deeper waters.
Tug boats are set to tow the MV Portland Bay out to deeper water over two to three hours on Monday afternoon with the crew set to stay on board.
The Port Authority has said the ship's master asked to keep the 21 crew members on board because he's confident the engine failure can be fixed once the ship is further out to sea.
John Finch, chief operating officer at Port Authority, said the operation involved three tugs coordinating a towing operation to move the vessel into safe deeper waters out to sea.
"The priority is getting this vessel and its crew into safer waters and away from land and the potential of grounding," he said.
"All tugs have now arrived and connected to the ship so the operation has commenced to raise its anchors and move this ship safely out to sea in a slow and controlled manner.
"The conditions make the towage operation quite difficult. In eight-metre swell, the vessel is going to be rising and falling and rolling. That's going to put a lot of stress on the equipment and the tug lines."
The bulk carrier lost power and began drifting towards the cliffs at the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, not long after it left Wollongong about 7:30am.
A plan to airlift the crew has been abandoned as too dangerous for the time being, he said.
Earlier NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said emergency services were on their way to the cargo ship to try and airlift to safety eight non-essential crew.
"It is obviously a very precarious position and our thoughts are with those on board," he said.
The ship is being battered by heavy rain and strong winds, part of a deluge affecting a 500km stretch of coast all the way from Newcastle to Bateman's Bay in the state's south.
Bureau of Meteorology [BOM] spokesman Jonathan How said those across Sydney are currently experiencing "a little bit of reprieve in the rain", but a gale warning and severe weather warning remain current.
