The collision at around 7:30 a.m. (2230 GMT Thursday) left holes in three containers aboard the 146,000-ton tanker Hebei Spirit, leading to what was believed to be South Korea's largest offshore oil leak, a Maritime and Fisheries Ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity, citing office policy.

The spill released about 66,000 barrels (10.5 million liters; 2.7 million gallons), said Coast Guard officer Jung Se-hi. Earlier, ministry officials had cited a larger figure of about 110,000 barrels for the spill.

The leakage was stopped by late afternoon and work was concentrated on cleaning up the spill, Jung said.

The Coast Guard dispatched 34 coast guard, navy and other government vessels as well as four helicopters to stop the spread of the spill and collect the oil, Jung said.

YTN, a 24-hour cable news channel, showed footage of the black oil gushing out of the ship and into the ocean.

There were no human casualties in the accident.

The tanker was at anchor about 8 kilometers (5 miles) off Mallipo beach, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southwest of Seoul, carrying about 260,000 tons of crude oil - or about 1.8 million barrels - when it was hit by another vessel that was carrying a crane, the ministry official said.

The previously largest oil spill in South Korea happened in 1995 when about 5,035 tons - about 35,000 barrels - of crude and fuel oil was leaked, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Environmental and other damage from Friday's spill would likely be less compared with 1995, said Jang Ki-pyo, a spokesman at the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry, as the leaked oil would be quickly frozen during cold winter temperatures and because the accident took place about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from shore.

The 1995 leak, which occurred in July, caused an estimated 73.5 billion won, at today's exchange rates equal to US$80 million (€55 million), in damage.

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez supertanker released about 260,000 barrels, or 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound in what turned into a major environmental disaster.

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