A ship carrying 70,000 tonnes of highly flammable gas oil has struck the submerged car transporter The Tricolor off the Kent coast.

However, The Vicky, which became stuck on the Tricolor in the English Channel at 1930 GMT on Wednesday, has since come free.

Collision dates

December 14: Tricolor collides with Kariba December 16: The Nicola hits the submerged Tricolor January 1: Cargo ship the Vicky runs onto the Tricolor

It is the second ship within a fortnight to hit the Tricolor, which originally sank with its cargo of 3,000 cars after being hit by cargo freighter Kariba on 14 December.

A spokesman from Dover Coastguard told BBC News Online there were 24 crew members on board the Vicky, which is Turkish-registered.

She said: "The Vicky has now been moved off the Tricolor, as the tide has risen.

"It is off and is moving towards a position a mile off where it will drop anchor.

"There it will be checked to see if there are any holes.

"The master of the Vicky has informed the French authorities he doesn't need any assistance.

"So, although there have been reports of a strong smell of gas and a possible hole in bow, this has not been confirmed."

French coastguards will inspect the Vicky for any possible damage once it is anchored.

Adequate warning

The English Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, adding more pressure to the rescue operation.

The spokesman said the Master of the Vicky believed it was safe to keep the crew on his ship.

The 243 metre-long, 43,000 tonne tanker was sailing from Antwerp in Belgium to New York when it struck the Tricolor.

The Tricolor sank with �30m of luxury cars on board after colliding with cargo freighter Kariba in thick fog.

	:	Graphic guide
The Tricolor shipwreck

The cargo ship Nicola then hit the Tricolor two days later.

This latest collision is bound to reignite questions about how well the wreck of the Tricolor has been protected.

Back in December, Dutch firm Smit Salvage said it felt adequate warning had been given to other ships.

Andrew Linington, a spokesman for the maritime union NUMAST, said he was "appalled" to hear of the latest accident.

He said: "We know that the area had been buoyed off, and there had been a guard ship in place.

"We would hope an investigation would look at all the circumstances and whether these precautions remained in place.

"It certainly beggars belief that it can happen."