Ship runs aground near Gibraltar, fuel leaking

MADRID, Jan 29 (Reuters) A refrigerator ship ran aground on a Spanish beach in stormy seas, breaching the hull and spilling engine fuel over protected coasts near Gibraltar, Spanish media reported environmental groups as saying.

The ship Sierra Nava was anchored in Gibraltar Bay yesterday when strong winds blew it onto a beach just south of Algeciras, a port across the bay from the British colony, the Spanish coastguard said.

The Web edition of newspaper El Pais reported environmental group Greenpeace as saying fuel from the 100-metre vessel had washed up along 4 km (2.5 miles) of coast inside the Estrecho National Park.

The paper quoted maritime sources as saying the Sierra Nava is thought to have around 350 tonnes of fuel on board in four compartments though only one had been damaged. The sources put the size of the fuel slick at nearer 1 km.

A coastguard helicopter rescued the crew of 14 who earlier had to put out a fire in the ship's engine room, El Pais reported.

Spain has been buffeted by strong winds and freezing temperatures over the past week, bringing snow to much of the peninsula including the normally balmy Mediterranean coast.

Reuters DH VP0422