Oil pollution from the NYK Line-controlled bulker, which grounded and broke in two at the port of Hachinohe in north-west Japan, is spreading.

NYK said there were 1,550 metric tonnes of heavy-fuel oil and 130 metric tonnes of diesel oil onboard the 49,500-dwt Crimson Polaris (built 2006) when it grounded.

“The amount of oil that has spilled from the vessel has not been identified,” the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.