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| A view of the Icelandic container ship Godafoss, which ran aground outside Fredrikstad |
The Godafoss, which “probably” contains a total of 800 tonnes of fuel, is leaking from the middle of both sides and some of the oil had reached the shore, the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) said in a statement.
Experts were rushed to the scene to determine how extensive the leak was, and two floating barriers were set up around the ship to limit the damage.
Several NCA anti-pollution ships and tugboats also sailed to the accident site.
The Godafoss struck ground late on Thursday as it was transporting 439 containers to the southeastern Norwegian town of Fredrikstad, not far from the Swedish border.
It was stuck on a rock, the statement said.
The weather conditions were considered relatively favourable to a clean-up, with a calm sea and moderate winds expected to help drive the oil slick away from the fragile shoreline.
However some of the oil had reached the shore of one island by late morning, NCA said.
The Swedish coast guard sent an anti-pollution ship and a surveillance plane to help its colleagues in Norway.
“There is a risk that this oil will reach the Swedish coast,” it said in a statement.
The Ytre Hvaler park is Norway’s only marine natural reserve park, and is not far from the Swedish Kosterhavet marine national park.
According to Norway’s environment ministry, the park created in June 2009 stretches across 354sq km and is home to a wide variety of sea birds, marine life and fragile coral reefs.