A ship that would be loaded with 750 tons of diesel oil sank this Saturday off the southeast coast of Tunisia. The Tunisian authorities say they are working to avoid “a marine environmental disaster in the region”.
A ship transporting diesel from Egypt to Malta sank on Saturday, April 16 in the Gulf of Gabes, off the southeast coast of Tunisia.
The situation is “under control”
Interviewed at midday by national television, the Minister of the Environment, Leila Chikhaoui, affirmed that the situation was “under control”.
His ministry announced at the same time, in a press release, “the installation of anti-pollution barriers around the area of the sinking, the planned pumping of fuel oil and the inspection by divers of the state of the hull”.
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”.
“The ship sank this morning in Tunisian territorial waters. For the moment, there is no leak,” the spokesperson for the local court told AFP in the morning, adding that a “commission disaster prevention will meet to decide on the measures to be taken”.
750 tons of diesel on board
The merchant ship Xelo, loaded with “about 750 tonnes of diesel”, had asked Friday evening to enter Tunisian waters because of bad weather conditions, the environment ministry said in a statement.
The ship, whose crew was rescued and flying the flag of Equatorial Guinea (IMO number 7618272), was heading for the European island of Malta from the Egyptian port of Damietta.
While about 7 km off the coast of the Gulf of Gabes, the merchant ship began to take on water, which seeped into the engine room, rising to almost two meters in height.
The Tunisian authorities have evacuated the crew of seven people on board the ship in distress, “which is in danger of sinking”, according to the ministry.
Avoid “an environmental disaster”
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, specifying that the situation was “currently under control”. No spokesperson was immediately available for further details.
The Ministry of the Environment described the situation of the ship as “alarming” and announced the establishment of a “national urgent intervention plan” in order to avoid the sinking of the ship and marine pollution.
The Gabes region is traditionally an important fishing area but has suffered in recent years, according to several NGOs, from episodes of pollution. These are due to the phosphate processing industries that are installed there and to the presence of an oil pipeline carrying oil from southern Tunisia.
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.
