Tunisia: No fuel in sunken tanker

According to Tunisian naval officials, a commercial tanker that sank off the Tunisian coast and was believed to be carrying 750 tons of diesel fuel really had no fuel at all. On suspicion of criminal behavior, the ship’s crew has been detained.

Last week’s loss of the Xelo ship sparked concerns about a possible fuel spillage in the Mediterranean. Tunisia’s Environment Ministry initiated an emergency response plan while neighboring Italy dispatched a barge equipped to clean up the pollution.

The captain of the ship first said that it held 750 tons of fuel. However, after Tunisian and Italian divers investigated the sunken tanker, they discovered no fuel in its containers, Rear Adm. Mezri Latif said at a Friday press briefing.

“The ship was completely submerged in seawater… Corrosion had taken hold of the ship’s valves and pumps. “We inferred that the ship had not carried oil for an extended length of time,” he explained.

“The ship is no longer a threat to the Gulf of Gabes’ ecology. There is no evidence of a fuel leak. The Navy will supervise the wreckage recovery effort, and the inquiry will continue to ascertain the precise reason for the sinking,” the Tunisian commander stated.

He stated that the bridge of the ship had been damaged and various navigation gadgets had been stolen. The GPS was smashed to pieces by hammer blows, and the ship’s bill of lading vanished.

The seven-member crew was rescued by the Tunisian Navy on April 16 after transmitting a distress call due to adverse weather conditions.

They were all arrested Friday on suspicion of involvement in criminal activities, according to Mohamed Karay, spokesman for the Gabes court.

The yacht is registered in Equatorial Guinea, and the crew consists of Georgian, Turkish, and Azerbaijani nationals.

The Xelo had departed Egypt’s port of Damietta on its way to Malta but was redirected owing to adverse weather conditions.

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