A tanker with jet fuel collided with a container ship some 30km off the Dutch coast at Scheveningen, the Dutch ANP newsagency said today.
Peter van Oorschot, a spokesman for the Dutch Coast Guard, told BNR Radio that the Greek tanker was leaking highly flammable fuel and had a crew of 25.
He added that no one was injured in the collision.
Mr Oorschot said the jet fuel quickly vapourises and posed no public health risk, adding he did not expect it to reach the Dutch coast.
He could not say how much jet fuel the tanker was carrying, but that efforts were under way to transfer the remaining fuel.
The Cypriot container ship has a crew of 12 and has asked permission to sail for Rotterdam. The Arka oil dispersion ship and rescue vessels are on their way to the site, Mr Oorschot said.
A Port of Rotterdam spokesman said the container ship had been en route to Rotterdam from St Petersburg.
Reuters