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Canary Islands government delegate María del Carmen Hernández Bento [pictured] has stated that there is a "very small" risk of the sunken fishing vessel Oleg Naydenov leaking the bunker fuel cargo it has on board.

Speaking to the local media, Hernández Bento explained that, given information she had received, she believed "there will not be a leak".

The 136-metre-long Oleg Naydenov caught fire inside the Port of Las Palmas on Saturday and went down around 15 nautical miles south of Punta de Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, after authorities decided to tow it there for safety.

The vessel sank in an area with a depth of 2,400 metres. On Wednesday, the Spanish media reported the existence of oil stains near the location where it had gone down, including video and photo images.

Hernández Bento explained that the Oleg Naydenov went down on Tuesday night after the vessel listed to port, whilst adding that claims that the trawler had been deliberately sunk were "false".

The Canary Islands government delegate pointed out that the ocean currents were moving in a southward direction, hence there was "no risk of contamination for the Canary Islands coastline".

"For this reason the decision was made to tow the vessel there," she added.

Hernández Bento also said that the Spanish government had put into place the necessary measures to contain a possible leak, whilst adding that decisions had been made that "are not easy", when faced with a burning vessel loaded with fuel in the Port of Las Palmas.

The decision to tow the burning trawler out to open sea has already been criticized by analysts who note that a spill would be harder to contain there.

Enrique Pardo, of environmental group Confederación de Ecologistas en Acción, is quoted as saying to El País: "Common sense would dictate that any operation becomes more complicated in the open sea, and that the chances of keeping an accident under control are much lower."

"That is why the general trend is to designate refuges in ports or bays to deal with ships in trouble," he added.

Prior to the sinking, the Oleg Naydenov had been arrested in Senegalese waters in response to suspected illegal fishing activities said to have been detected by a French military plane. Built in 1990, the vessel's owner is listed as being Murmansk Trawl Fleet Co..

Image: Canary Islands government delegate María del Carmen Hernández Bento.