Cargo ship beached after collision in Bay of Gibraltar

MADRID (AP) - Gibraltar authorities said Tuesday that a cargo ship has been beached to prevent it from sinking after it collided with a liquefied natural gas carrier in the Bay of Gibraltar.

A government spokesman said that the situation was under control and the ship was not in danger. He said there had been no environmental impact so far. The government said booms had been placed in the area to contain any possible fuel seepage.

No one was injured in the collision. The crew of the cargo ship - the 178-meter (584-foot), Tuvalu-registered OS 35 - remains on board.

A Gibraltar government statement said the cargo ship sustained 'œsignificant damage to the vessel's starboard side," including a gash below the waterline measuring approximately 10 meters (32 feet) by 4 meters (13 feet).

The statement said the Adam LNG carrier appeared to have suffered no significant damage, except for a superficial dent.

It said a specialist marine salvage team from the Netherlands was due to arrive in Gibraltar later in the day to conduct a full on-site assessment.

The spokesman, who was not authorized to be named, said the cargo vessel was resting on the seabed in 17 meters (56 feet) of water close to the coast. The ship was carrying steel bars.

The Gibraltar government said it had set up a 200-meter exclusion zone around the stricken ship but that the Gibraltar port had reopened and was functioning as normal.

Gibraltar, a British territory located on southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, is a busy shipping port.