Dubai - A gas tanker burst into flames after it collided with a container ship off the coast of Dubai on Tuesday, the Emirates News Agency WAM reported.

The ship, which the news agency identified as the "Kashmir," collided with a container ship about 5 kilometres from the Jabil Ali port, which is about 35 kilometres south-west of Dubai.

A spokesman for the Dubai ports authority DP World told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the collision took place at 12:23 pm (0823 GMT). He said he was unable to confirm the name or the owners of either of the two ships involved.

Two crewmen were rescued from the water with light injuries, the spokesman said, and no one else was injured.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly, and the container ship was removed from the area within 30 minutes of the collision.

Jabil Ali is the larger of Dubai's two main ports. Last week DP World said it would open a second terminal by the end of the month, bringing the port's capacity to 13 million
20-foot equivalent units.

Importers have complained that heavy traffic at Jabil Ali has obliged them to wait for as long as a week to dock, the UAE daily Gulf News reported Sunday. (dpa)