SOFIA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A small amount of fuel oil has leaked from an American ship sunk in 1921 in the Black Sea some 10 km from the Bulgarian resort of Sozopol, officials said Monday.
"At present, the leakage is minimal and quite limited," Bulgaria's Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Ivaylo Moskovski said at a press conference.
"To date, there is no risk to tourists and ecology," Moskovski said.
Measures have already been taken to prevent the oil from spreading, and a ship of the European Maritime Safety Agency would pick up the oil that has already leaked into the water, he said.
Meanwhile, the authorities would immediately take measures to pump the fuel from the ship's tanks, the minister said.
There was no information about its quantity but experts believed that it was from 100 tonnes and 150 tonnes, Moskovski said.
Probably recent storm and strong underwater currents have caused the leakage, he said.
The ship Mopang was sunk by a mine on July 1, 1921, and lies at a depth around 30 meters.
