A Greek tanker transporting kerosene and a Cypriot container ship have collided off the Dutch coast.
The collision happened in the North Sea, some 30km (19 miles) from the port of Scheveningen, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
No-one was injured in the incident although the tanker’s hull was pierced and the highly flammable fuel was leaking out.
An oil dispersion ship and rescue vessels are on their way to the site.
The tanker is reported to have a crew of 25 people. Twelve people were on board the Cypriot ship.
“There is a hole in the tanker’s waterline which has triggered a leak,” Jan Regeling, a spokesman for the Dutch coastguard, told AFP.
Reports say the hole is five-metres (16 ft) wide. The kerosene posed no public health risk, was evaporating rapidly and was not expected to reach the shoreline, according to another coastguard spokesperson quoted by Reuters.
The Cypriot vessel has requested permission to sail for Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
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