An oil tanker, carrying 750 tonnes of diesel, left Egypt for Malta, was shipwrecked on Saturday in the Gulf of Gabès, on the south-eastern coast of Tunisia, prompting a mobilization to avoid an oil spill.
“The ship sank this morning in Tunisian territorial waters. For the moment, there is no leak, ”assured AFP a spokesman for the court of Gabès. According to this spokesperson, Mohamed Karray, a “disaster prevention commission will meet in the coming hours to decide on the measures to be taken”.
Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui is “on her way to Gabès to assess the situation following the sinking of the Xelo ship and to take the necessary preventive decisions in coordination with the regional authorities”, the ministry said in a statement. The authorities have activated “the national emergency plan for the prevention of marine pollution with the aim of controlling the situation and avoiding the spread of pollutants”.
Read also | Mining investments. Morocco in the top 10 of the most attractive jurisdictions in the world
The Xelo tanker (registered IMO 7618272), 58 meters long by 9 meters wide, according to the Vesseltracker website, and flying the flag of Equatorial Guinea, was heading for the island of Malta from the port of Damietta in Egypt, according to the ministry. To take shelter, in the face of bad weather conditions, the ship had asked to enter Tunisian territorial waters on Friday evening.
While regarding 7 km off the coast of the Gulf of Gabes, the tanker began to take on water, according to the ministry. The water seeped into the engine room, rising up to almost two meters in height. The Tunisian authorities then evacuated the crew of seven people on board the ship in distress, the ministry added.
Read also | Morocco considers onshore and offshore options for importing liquefied natural gas
According to the court’s spokesperson, the crew members, made up of a Georgian captain, four Turks and two Azerbaijanis, were briefly “hospitalized for checks and are staying in a hotel”. The Ministries of Defence, Interior, Transport and Customs are working to avoid “a marine environmental disaster in the region and to limit its repercussions”, assured the Ministry of the Environment.
When the ship had not yet sunk, the ministry described the ship’s situation as “alarming” but “under control”. The last maritime accident involving Tunisia dates back to October 2018, when a Tunisian ro-ro ship L’Ulysse collided with a Cypriot container ship CLS Virginia 28 km off Cap Corse, France.
At the time, a slick of 600 tonnes of propulsion fuel had escaped from the Cypriot container ship, which required the intervention of French and Italian ships and the European Maritime Agency to limit marine pollution.