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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]

A team of divers from the Tunisian navy completed inspecting the hull of a tanker loaded with 750 tons of fuel that sank off southeast Tunisia, the presidency said in a statement on Monday.

It was able to determine the areas that require rapid intervention and ensured the fuel shipment is still sealed, the statement added.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with all relevant authorities, especially the ministries of environment and transportation, as well as local authorities in Gabes.

The statement affirmed that the leaked fuel observed on the surface of the waters off the Tunisian coast came from the engines of the ship that sunk on Friday and was in limited quantity.

Meanwhile, local suspicions are growing about the procrastination in leaving Tunisia’s coast and exposing the ship to sink to obtain compensation from insurance companies.

Former Minister of State Property Mabrouk Kourchid said this ship appeared to be sailing with forged documents after preliminary investigations revealed it does not have a shipping certificate.

Kourchid further pointed that it changed the flag of the African country it raised upon sailing.

“Evidence shows that it is a fuel smuggling operation, and the smugglers sank it.”

He said the Tunisian authorities will be held partly responsible for allowing “a rogue ship without legal documents to enter its territorial waters.”

Meanwhile, Tunisia said some countries have offered to help it prevent damage to the environment.

Italy announced sending two ships, helicopters and an underwater drone to help Tunisia.

The Italian army sent the equipment to monitor and control any oil leakage, Italy’s official news agency reported.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo 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 rescued the seven-member crew, who received first aid and were being accommodated in a hotel.

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Iraqi Govt to Factions: We Are Not Concerned with Israeli-Iranian War

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)
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Iraqi Govt to Factions: We Are Not Concerned with Israeli-Iranian War

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)

Aside from a complaint to the United Nation Security Council against Israel over its violations of Iraq’s airspace, the Baghdad government is acting cautiously as it seeks to avoid become dragged into the conflict between Israel and neighboring Iran.

The authorities in Baghdad and the Iran-backed Coordination Framework realize the dangerous consequences of any action by the Iran-aligned armed factions.

Sources said the government and its allies have taken a “firm decision” to avoid any repercussions from the war and that no one should intervene in it “in any way, shape or form.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani held intense contacts with the heads of Shiite parties and factions to deliver one main message: “We are not concerned with taking part in this war.”

Even though they have not acted yet, the pro-Iran factions have stressed that they will not allow Israel to “exploit its position to wipe out their camps and the Popular Mobilization Forces.”

And yet, the factions are aware that their participation in the war will not “yield the desired strategic impact.”

Spokesman for the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada faction Sheikh Kazem al-Fartousi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “means at the factions’ disposal are not enough to change the course of the battle where all sorts of deadly missiles, technology and military equipment are being used.”

“The Iraqi authorities have not taken enough measures against the United States, which is backing Israel, and it appears to be helpless in doing anything to protect Iraq’s sovereignty,” he added.

Furthermore, he denied claims that booby-trapped drones had been launched from near the Iraqi-Iranian border. He also denied knowing anything about operations carried out by the armed factions against Israel from Iraqi territory.

They would usually announce their responsibility for such operations, he explained.

Sources said the drones were fired from Iranian military camps located inside Iraq territory near the border.

They added that the Iranians “have not yet decided whether to attack American bases in the region, but there is speculation that they have already prepared a list of targets that they will hit with an unprecedented missile barrage. The bases include Ain al-Assad and Harir in Iraq and bases in eastern Syria.”

A senior Iraqi official, however, said Baghdad had requested from Tehran that it refrain from attacking American interests in Iraq.

The Iranians said they were understanding of the request.

Researcher Nizar Haidar said the Iraqi PM had exerted extraordinary efforts with political leaders from the Coordination Framework to persuade the factions to hold back from attacking American interests.