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The owners of the Greek-registered bulk carrier Syros claim the total amount of fuel oil which leaked from the vessel following a collision with a Maltese-flagged ship last week was much lower than the figures quoted by the international media.

The 63325 dwt Syros collided with the bulk carrier Sea Bird, which had been anchored approximately 12 miles off the coast of Uruguay and waiting to enter the port of Buenos Aires. The resulting bunker spill was reported in the international press as having released approximately 145 cubic meters of fuel oil into the open sea.

The owners of the Syros claim the oil spill is much less than previous estimates and only stands at 14 metric tonnes. Speaking about the incident, they also said "the owners take any spillage extremely seriously, regardless of size, and every effort is being made to ensure that the local environment is protected."

The fuel oil trail resulting from the collision was reported in the media as being approximately 13 miles long and slowly drifting along the River Plate estuary in a south-easterly direction. Authorities have been attempting to control the spill with floating barriers before it reaches the mouth of the River Plate near Buenos Aires.

Officials say there will be much greater harm to the environment if the fuel reaches land.