Maltese vessel in collision off Uruguay

A Maltese-registered merchant vessel anchored in mid-ocean was involved in a collision with a Greek oil tanker off the coast of Uruguay, resulting in an oil spill from one of the vessels, Uruguay's Navy said yesterday in a statement.

A government environmental official in Uruguay said the wind was blowing the "medium-sized" spill across the vast Rio de la Plata estuary towards Buenos Aires in Argentina. The estuary separates Uruguay and Argentina.

The accident occurred late on Tuesday between the Greek ship Syros and a Maltese vessel named Sea Bird. The Maltese-registered tanker had been anchored about 20 kilometres off the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital.

No one was reported hurt in the collision.

A source at Uruguay's national environmental agency said the Greek ship lost about 14,000 cubic meters of fuel oil after its fuel tank was ripped open.

"The spill is in the middle of the river and the wind is carrying it in the direction of southern Buenos Aires. We hope it doesn't get there," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"There's less impact as long as the spill stays on the river, but if the fuel reaches land, the harm is greater," the source said, adding that officials were working to dissolve the fuel oil into the water.