All but an Ukrainian engineer, whose body was found 10 days later, were rescued.

The port trust earlier in the day said the spill was from the service tank of the engine room and was negligible. It does not pose any threat to ecology.

'Out of the 924 metric tonnes of oil, 900 metric tonnes are inside a double bottom tank fully secured and are very safe and cannot be released easily,' the port trust said in a statement.

A section of the media Monday said the ship had spilled oil and a thick film of black crude oil was visible on the sea near Paradip. Dead fish lie scattered on the shore.

Behera, however, said the team did not find any dead fish or marine animals due to the reported oil slick.