According to reports, the Mindoro tanker had a 16ft hole close to the water line causing it to leak kerosene.

The incident took place approximately 20 miles off the coast of Holland, near Scheveningen, at around 7am local time.

Reuters reported that oil was floating on the water over an area of 3km to 0.5km following the collision.

However, a Dutch coastguard said that the fuel spill was evaporating quickly and confirmed that there had been little impact to sealife.

Spokesman Peter OorSchort told Eamonn Holmes at Sky News: “There was some leakage, a small trail of about three nautical miles, but it’s very light material and it’s evaporating very soon, so there is no danger for the environment.”

The tanker’s crew were able to pump the remaining fuel into an undamaged part of the vessel, stemming the flow of fuel into the sea. The Mindoro has now transferred the rest of its cargo onto another vessel.

An oil spill control boat is making its way to the tanker as a precaution, it has been reported.

Meanwhile, the container ship continued to make its way back to Rotterdam from St. Petersburg.

Edited by Darrel Moore

Read more about the global shipping industry in our feature How Global Shipping Has Overcome the Recession.