A giant oil and gas production platform, which had been preparing to enter the River Tyne, has headed to the safety of Holland because of rough weather in north-east England.

The 300 metre-long Bonga floating oil platform is due to shelter for a week in the Dutch port of Rotterdam before crossing back to Tyneside.

The vessel arrived outside the mouth of the Tyne on 11 October after travelling 13,000 miles from South Korea.

The 300,000 tonne vessel, the largest to ever negotiate the Tyne, will be fitted with 22,000 tonnes of oil processing equipment at the Amec yard in Wallsend, North Tyneside.

Bonga facts:

The Bonga is 56 metres longer than London's Canary Wharf building is tall It stands taller than Gateshead's Angel of the North landmark which is 20 metres high It weighs the same as 33,000 double-decker buses

The North regional secretary of the GMB, Kevin Curran, told BBC Radio Newcastle he was sure the Bonga would be back.

"This is a major contract that has sailed half-way around the world to access the skills and facilities that we have got on the Tyne.

"While we are experiencing a little local difficulty in terms of the weather, it might be that the safest option was to seek refuge in Holland for a week.

"We are fairly confident it will still come back... and the work will be completed on time."

'Bad weather'

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.

The latest recording on 18 October stated: "We are still waiting for the right tide and weather conditions to bring the Bonga up the Tyne.

"We do not now expect a suitable window before the end of next week. Our weather forecasts indicate that the low pressure system bringing bad weather is heading for the area.

"For this reason the Bonga has gone to a safe haven, Rotterdam, for shelter and will return to the North East in due course."