A ship carrying 12,000 liters of oil sank near Albania's northern town of Shengjin Tuesday, polluting the Adriatic Sea close to the port, local media reported Wednesday.

The Albanian port authorities have confirmed the accident, and used dispersants to dissipate oil slicks as they tried to check the extent of the pollution, according to the Albanian Daily News.

Tonin Uldedaj, Shengjin's mayor, said Tuesday that local authorities were doing everything to eliminate the consequences of this accident.

Leaders of local fisheries said that they were unsure how much oil had spilled into the sea, or the level of pollution.

The operation to salvage the ship is continuing and big cranes from Vlora, a southern port in Albania, have been sent to the site.