A phosphate ship which broke its moorings in rough seas at Christmas Island on the weekend has split in two and is leaking oil.

The Panamanian-registered MV Tycoon, which had been loading phosphate for the past three days, was pushed against the sea wall by a heavy swell at Flying Fish Cove.

Fifteen crew were taken off the ship by the Navy with two of them taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Weather conditions have worsened and caused the ship, which was carrying 100 tonnes of phosphate and 100 tonnes of fuel, to break in half.

Witnesses say the scene is a mess.

A member of the island's Volunteer Marine Rescue, Scott Fisher, says he can see oil in the water around the ship.

"There's a crack in it just ahead of the superstructure," he said.

"There's oil washing around close to it, there's swells up the height of the wharf, the cliff, and the ship is just sitting on the bottom."

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Toby Stone says it is not clear how much damage has been done.

"There's no capability of getting any aircraft up there at the moment because of the low cloud conditions," he said.

"We have people on the foreshore looking at the situation, all we can say; there has been a release of oil, some of it has impacted on the beaches and there has been a release of some of the fertiliser as well."

The MV Tycoon grinds against the wharf at Christmas Island after the ship broke its moorings in large swells. ( Audience submitted: Scott Fisher )

Island administrator Brian Lacy says the pollution response is in the hands of the experts.

"There's very little we can do because we don't have the resources here to contain a major spill of fuel and things of that nature," he said.

The leaking oil is being dissipated by strong winds and waves and Mr Lacy is hoping there will not be too much damage.

"According to the advice that I've received the fuel will float on top of the water, not sink so it shouldn't cause any real issues for the marine life," he said.

"We're still waiting for some advice on that, we will get some expert opinions in due course."

Mr Fisher says there is now some heavy oil on the beach and in the water.

"The cove is one of the best snorkelling sites in Australia we reckon and we really don't want to be that to be unleashed upon the cove," he said.

The stricken ship is expected to prevent supplies from reaching residents of the remote community with operations at the wharf on hold until the wreck can be salvaged.

Mr Lacy says a supply ship was meant to arrive later this week but that is now unlikely.

"The supermarkets are fairly well stocked at the present time in any event but there is a team planning for the contingency that may be needed to ensure that we do restock on anything that may be needed," he said.



