国际英语新闻:U.S. Coast Guard responds to report of oil spill off Louisiana coast

HOUSTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday that it was responding to a report of a collision between a boat and an inactive oil wellhead, which is now discharging an oily-water mixture off the coast of the state of Louisiana.

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report that the 42-foot crewboat Sea Raider hit a wellhead owned by Swift Energy at around 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard said in a statement posted online.

"The platform is discharging an oily-water mixture, but the amount is unknown at this time," it noted.

Swift Energy, an energy company based in Houston, Texas, said that the wellhead was shut down and became inactive in December 2007.

Nobody was injured on the crewboat, also owned by Swift, the company said.

"The Coast Guard is working with federal, state and local agencies as well as the responsible party, Swift Energy, in response to this incident to secure the well and contain and clean up any oil that is leaking," the Coast Guard said.

It added that it "is investigating the cause of the incident."

The site is about 50 miles (80 km) away from the 2010 BP oil spill site, according to local media reports.

The 2010 blowout of BP's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico triggered an explosion that killed 11 rig workers and unleashed the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

BP is currently on trial in a civil case in New Orleans over the spill.