Bad weather continues to hamper search efforts underway in the Antarctic seas for a missing Norwegian sailboat.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) picked up a signal from a distress beacon registered to the yacht Berserk about 5pm yesterday, Tuesday 22 February.

The yacht's position at that time was 18 nautical miles (33km) north of Scott Base, in the Ross Sea.

The Berserk is a 48ft (14m) steel hulled sailboat. The most up to date information is that there are three people on board, and that the vessel had dropped two explorers onto Antarctica for the purpose of attempting to reach the South Pole.

Four of the crew are understood to be from Norway, and a fifth crew member from United Kingdom.

RCCNZ contacted the HMNZS Wellington to ask for their assistance in reaching the Berserk late last night, but the navy vessel was prevented from attending immediately due to extremely difficult weather in the region, with reports of winds up to 150kph and waves more than two metres high and rising.

The Wellington reached the last reported location of the Berserk just after 3am (NZDT) today but has not managed to locate the vessel. It has now completed a planned search of the area, but is pulling back due to the extreme weather conditions, which include 6-8 metre swells and winds of up to 60 knots (110kph).

The Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (Hovedredningssentralen) is attempting to identify the people aboard the vessel and to contact their families.

In the meantime, RCCNZ is continuing to liaise with bases in the Antarctic region regarding the possibility of tasking aircraft to help in the search when the weather eases. It has also tasked the vessel Steve Irwin, which is about 24 hours away, to assist in the search effort, and is working to determine whether any other vessels in the area may be able to provide assistance once conditions improve.