Tunisian authorities have announced that no leaks have been detected since the sinking of the Equatoguinean commercial cargo ship Xelo on Saturday off the southeast coast of Tunisia.
The situation is under control. We have not recorded any oil leaks so far” since the sinking of this ship carrying 750 tonnes of diesel, Tunisian Transport Minister Rabii Majidi told a conference.
He added that divers, who inspected the hull of this ship on Sunday “have intensified efforts to attach the boat to the tugs which will take care of the refloating” , noting that it is “a rather delicate and complex operation . which requires a high level of precision”.
According to him, the shipwrecked freighter “is not an oil tanker type vessel, but rather a simple commercial vessel, 60 meters long”. He assured that the load of 750 tonnes of diesel “did not represent a risk or even an ecological or environmental danger”.
Compensation
For her part, the Tunisian Minister of the Environment, Leila Chikhaouia stressed that her country would claim compensation, in the event of harmful environmental repercussions, following the sinking of the cargo ship Xelo.
The Minister mentioned the absence of the ship’s document, which contains the maritime transport contract, concluded between the shipper and the maritime carrier since the divers did not find it during the inspection of the cargo.
According to the divers, the ship “sank nearly 20 meters deep, in a horizontal position and does not show any cracks”, the Tunisian Ministry of the Environment also said in a press release.
The oil tanker Xelo, which left the port of Damietta in Egypt and was heading for Malta, sank on Saturday in Tunisian waters where it had taken refuge the previous evening due to bad weather conditions.
The 58 meter long by 9 wide ship began to take on water in the engine room. The authorities then proceeded to evacuate the seven crew members, before the sinking of the Xelo at dawn.
Towards a new environmental disaster?
Following the sinking of this tanker, the World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF Tunisia, warned of a new environmental disaster in the region.
Faced with this risk, the office of the World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF-North Africa has called for regularly updating data on oil spills and informing sailors and operators of the maritime domain in an instantaneous way.
The World Wide Fund for Nature has also called for the activation of the disaster control commissions in the governorates of Gabes, Sfax and Medenine and to optimize coordination between them.
Fishing area
The Fund also invited fishermen to avoid setting their nets in and around the areas affected by the leaks and to follow the instructions of the supervisory authority to protect their equipment and the health of consumers.
The Fund also considered it necessary to mobilize experts from the National Institute of Maritime Sciences and Technologies to study the environmental damage that this shipwreck could induce on the marine environment and fishery resources and on fishing activity. fishing and the income of fishermen.
WWF Tunisia recalled that the affected area is a fishing area for more than 600 fishermen from Ghannouch and surrounding areas. It is also a part of the Gulf of Gabès which is the source of income for more than 34,000 fishermen and which has been facing several pollution problems for decades.
