Peru Oil Tanker Sinks After Explosion

A Peruvian navy oil tanker sank today off the Andean country's northern coast after an explosion injured 15 sailors and caused an oil spill, the Energy Minister Juan Valdivia has announced.

The tanker BAP Supe, leased by US oil and gas exploration company BPZ Resources, was carrying 1,300 barrels of crude oil when it sank in flames off the port of Zorritos, 1,000km (622 miles) northwest of Lima, writes Bloomberg.

BPZ, which started tapping crude in November at offshore Block Z-1 in Peru, has shut down output of 4,000 barrels of oil a day, spokesman Greg Smith told the news agency.

BPZ rigs and oil barges were undamaged, the company says.

The Peruvian navy is investigating the sinking.

By staff writer