A containership and a ferry collided off the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea, causing a three-mile long spill of heavy fuel, with French and Italian coastal authorities scrambling to contain it.

French maritime officials said the Tunisia registered ferry Ulysse carrying trucks, rammed on Sunday the Cyprus registered CSL Virginia, which was anchored around 15 miles off the Corsican coast. The collision smashed a hole in the hull of one of the ships, causing the fuel leak. There were no injuries.

“The spill is quite big, but there is not much wind, which will help the containment efforts,” one official said. “We still don’t know how much more fuel may spill when the two ships are separated, but we are putting booms to contain it.” It wasn’t immediately known how much fuel the two vessels had in their tanks. The Ulysse was on its way from Genoa to Tunisia and a picture released by the French Navy showed its bow smashed up against the right side of the Virginia. Two French and three Italian ships were sent to the area along with helicopters and aircraft. An investigation is under way into what caused the collision.

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