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A collision between two vessels in Tampa Bay, Florida, has caused a bunker spill of up to 1000 gallons, according to the US Coast Guard.

The incident took place on Thursday at about 8 p.m., approximately two miles northwest of Manbirtee Key, Florida.

The fishing vessel Maranatha, an 80-foot trawler homeported in Irvington, Alabama, and the Coastal, a 95-foot barge, collided causing a four-by-eight-inch gash in Maranatha's starboard forward fuel tank.

The damaged fuel tank held approximately 4000 gallons of diesel fuel and was estimated to have released approximately 800 -1000 gallons of diesel fuel into the water, the US Coast Guard said.

The leak has been secured and spill response contractors deployed a containment boom to protect environmentally sensitive areas that might be affected by the spill.

Heavy fog was said to have had an impact on the spill assessment. Coast Guard Cutter Hawk, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida, was at the scene of the incident and an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air station Clearwater, Florida, carried out an aerial assessment.

Coast Guard pollution responders along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office were on scene to assess and monitor the spill.

Spill response contractors have completed on-scene clean-ups and any remaining fuel is said to be unrecoverable and evaporating.

Shipping traffic to and from Port Manatee and the Port of Tampa was disrupted for approximately 15 hours between Thursday night and Friday morning.

The Maranatha was cleared on Friday to proceed to East Bay with a Coast Guard escort. The Coastal and accompanying tugboat were cleared to proceed on its voyage.