A tanker carrying 750 tons of diesel fuel sank Saturday in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia’s southeast coast, a local court said.
“The ship sank this morning in Tunisian territorial waters. For the moment, there is no leak,” court spokesman Mohamed Karray said.
A “disaster prevention committee will meet to decide on the measures to be taken,” he added, AFP reported.
The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was headed from the Egyptian port of Damietta to the European island of Malta when it requested entry to Tunisian waters on Friday evening due to bad weather.
It began taking water around seven kilometers (over four miles) offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.
Tunisian authorities evacuated the seven-member crew which was at risk of sinking.
The defense, interior, transport and customs ministries were working to avoid “a marine environmental disaster in the region and limit its impact,” the environment ministry said, stressing that the situation is under control.
