Hamburg - A barge carrying diesel fuel was in collision with another vessel in Germany Wednesday, causing a 10-kilometre-long oil slick on the Elbe river, which empties into the North Sea.

Emergency services said up to 400 tons of diesel was spilled in the worst shipping accident near the city of Hamburg for four years.

The anchor of a 95-metre river freighter, the Aldebaran, ripped open four tanks of the 82-metre tanker barge Undine. The vessels scraped one another along their starboard rails while passing on the Elbe, a busy waterway that begins in the Czech Republic.

Nobody was hurt. Police investigators said there was no evidence that the steersmen had been under the influence of alcohol.

Booms were being used to stop the slick reaching marshland. To halt the leaks, the Undine unloaded the rest of the 920 tons of diesel it had been carrying. (dpa)