A shipping accident off the coast of Texas spilled an estimated 1.7 million litres of oil into the
ocean, the US Coast Guard said.
The spill happened on Saturday morning when a towing vessel, the Dixie Vengeance, collided with a 245-metre tank ship, the Eagle Otome.
"As a result of the collision, the Eagle Otome sustained damage in the vicinity of the number one starboard tank, which was reported to be loaded with crude oil. The initial estimate of
spilled oil is 450,000 gallons (1.7 million litres)," the Coast Guard said in a statement.
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The collision happened near Port Arthur, in the south-east of Texas near the border with Louisiana.
In the wake of the crash, the Coast Guard closed a waterway and established a perimeter around the Eagle Otome and the Dixie Vengeance, which was towing two barges at the time of the collision.
The Coast Guard said no injuries had been reported, adding that it had deployed 4,000 feet (1,219 metres) of boom - a floating container of the oil spill.
