MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

River Plate vessels collision leaves 20 kilometers fuel trail

Merchant ships from Greece and Malta collided off the coast of Uruguay, dumping fuel oil from one of the vessels, Uruguay's Navy said on Wednesday in a statement. However no one was hurt in the accident which occurred late Tuesday night.

The Maltese flagged vessel named Sea Bird, anchored about 12 miles off the coast of Montevideo and waiting to enter Buenos Aires port was rammed for yet unspecified reasons by the Greek vessel Zyros. As a result of the collision a fuel oil trail of twenty kilometers long and thirty meters wide is slowly drifting along the River Plate estuary on a south easterly direction reported the Uruguayan Coast Guard. "The spill is in the middle of the river and the wind is carrying it in the direction of southern Buenos Aires province with no immediate threat for the Uruguayan or Argentine coasts", added the Coast Guard spokesperson. According to the reports the Greek vessel suffered a five meters long gash in its fuel tank, next to the floating line, loosing approximately 145 cubic meters of fuel oil. Uruguayan naval authorities said that "since it's not heavy oil, and a relatively small volume, the fuel will disperse naturally" limiting damage to the environment. Nevertheless special units are working to dissolve the fuel oil in the water. A crew from a Montevideo dry dock is currently working to patch the Greek vessel' ripped side so she can move into harbor for a full repair. Zyros has listed ten degrees to help contain the loss of fuel. Meantime Uruguayan judicial officials have begun an official inquiry into the accident, which allegedly was caused by the Greek vessel, while another parallel investigation from the Environment Ministry will determine the fine to be paid by the polluters.