"The oil is very diluted and has spread to almost all the beaches in the region," the head of Rio's ports authority, Walter Bombada, told the newspaper O Globo.

"But it doesn't seem to be an accident of huge proportions.... It seems to come from an oil tanker cleaning out its reservoir," he said.

The slick was found along the coast 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro city, in a pristine beach area known as the Lakes District.

Around 20 penguins were found dead on the beaches.

Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company said in a statement it would help to clean the beaches. It also said it was analyzing the oil, but said an aerial pass out at sea failed to locate a tell-tale slick which could have pointed the way to the offending vessel.

Brazil's navy was asking 320 ships which passed by off the area over the past four days to supply samples of the oil they had on board.

If a ship is identified as being the culprit, its owners face a pollution fine of up to 25 million dollars.

earlier related report
Ship spills oil and containers off Mumbai
Mumbai (UPI) Aug 10, 2010 - An estimated 400 tons of oil and 100 containers spilled into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai after two ships collided.

The collision Saturday between two Panamanian vessels caused the M.S.C. Chitra -- carrying some 1,200 containers -- to run aground and tilt. Officials say the ship is now tilting at nearly 80 degrees.

Indian coast guard Commandant S.S. Dasila told CNN that oil from the ship had spread up to 5 nautical miles on the navigational channel.

Emergency crews sprayed dispersants on the oil slick and Maharashtra Environment Minister Suresh Shetty on Monday said the spill was under control.

But a Bombay Natural History Society survey shows that a 6- to 8-inch oil sediment had reached the shore of four villages on the Mumbai-Raigad coastline, The Hindu newspaper reports.

India's Directorate General of Shipping in a statement Monday said that 31 of the containers contained "dangerous cargo" of "corrosive, toxic and flammable" substances, The Wall Street Journal reports.

While the Indian coast guard announced that the containers of hazardous material were not affected by the collision, they didn't confirm whether any of the chemicals had leaked into the sea.

Aside from environmental concerns, the accident has brought shipping in the ports of Mumbai and Jawaharial to a standstill.

Typically, the two ports handle more than 100,000 tons of cargo each day. Now some 40 cargo ships are either waiting to enter or to leave, with more en route.

While maritime officials are aiming to clear the passage within the next few days, R. Venkatesh, president of the Western India Shippers Association said more time is needed.

"To ensure that the channel is truly safe for the ships to pass, and to remove all containers that have gone into the sea," the operation could take a week to 10 days, said Venkatesh, reports the Journal.

He said that Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping company, has canceled its bookings for the port.

Salvage operations off the Mumbai coast are expected to last a month, said Shetty, The Hindu newspaper reports.

Rahul Asthana, chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust, said an investigation into the cause of the collision had begun, but cited a "communication problem" as a possible reason.

Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told Parliament Monday that legal action has been started against the owners of the ships, Press Trust of India reports.

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