NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A freighter spilled some 60,000 gallons (228,000 liters) of heavy fuel oil in New York Harbor on Tuesday and some oil had reached the beach off Coney Island, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The 653-foot (200-meter) bulk freighter Brussel, registered in Cyprus, reported that a line ruptured between the freighter and the tank barge Newark Bay during refueling off northern Staten Island, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Mike Lutz said.

Coast Guard and New York police helicopters flew over to assess what was called a "medium spill" of No. 6 fuel oil but with night falling, they could not yet determine the extent of environmental harm.

The Coast Guard said the oil had traveled about four miles (6.4 kilometers), reaching Norton's Point, a crescent shaped spit of land less than a mile from Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn.

The New York Department of Environmental Protection and the Coast Guard sent pollution response teams to monitor the impact of the spill in waterfront areas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this type of oil can spread in thick, dark colored slicks or form tar balls that can be carried many miles by wind and currents and the oil can leave a "bathtub ring" on beaches.