A fuel-laden ship sinks off the coast of Tunisia.
On Saturday, a tanker carrying 750 tones of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta capsized off Tunisia’s southeast coast, but officials say a major spill is unlikely.
The crew of the Xelo yacht, according to authorities, issued a distress call on Friday evening and sought shelter in Tunisian seas from heavy winds before sinking the next morning in the Gulf of Gabes.
According to Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui, who travelled to the port of Gabes on Saturday to assist with the reaction, the situation is “under control.”
“For the time being, we believe the shell is still watertight and there is no leaking,” she told AFP.
“We believe that the resources we already have will allow us to limit the accident,” she added, adding that the government will not hesitate to seek outside help if necessary.
The Gabes district court said that an investigation into the accident had begun.
The tanker had issued a distress call, according to court spokesman Mohamed Karray, before it “sunk this morning in Tunisian national waters.”
When the Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo requested admission to Tunisian seas, it was on its way from the Egyptian port of Damietta to Malta.
According to ship tracking website, the tanker is 58 metres (63 yards) long and nine meters wide.
It began taking water in the Gulf of Gabes roughly seven kilometers (four miles) offshore.
