NEW YORK - An oil tanker slammed into a light tower off Staten Island, hobbling a navigation aid that helps watch over the main shipping lanes to New York Harbor, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The shipping lanes remained open, but the Coast Guard urged boaters to avoid the Ambrose Light until it could be fixed.

As of Sunday evening, Coast Guard crews were working on setting up temporary navigation aids until permanent repairs could be made to the tower, about 12 miles southeast of Staten Island and four miles outside the shipping channel.

There are other navigation aids in the area, "but it's very important that all of the mariners out there know about this one so they don't come too close to it," Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Annie Berlin said.

The tanker Axel Spirit rammed into the 76-foot steel tower around 2 a.m. Saturday, damaging its legs, the Coast Guard said.

The tower's light - normally visible for about 18 miles - was still on, but no longer rotating and not reliable, Berlin said.

No injuries or pollution were reported. The accident happened amid roughly 5-foot waves and 25-knot winds as the stormy remains of Hurricane Noel approached the seas off New York.

The ship's owner, Vancouver, Canada-based Teekay Corp., said Sunday it was cooperating with the Coast Guard on an investigation. Spokeswoman Gillian Redmond said the extent of the damage to the vessel was also being investigated.

The company ships oil and liquefied natural gas, transporting more than 10 percent of the world's seaborne oil, according to its Web site.

The 799-foot Axel Spirit was headed to a Chevron Corp. facility in Perth Amboy, N.J., according to the Coast Guard.