According to Tunisian naval officials, a commercial tanker that sank off the coast of Tunisia and was thought to be carrying 750 tonnes of diesel gasoline had no fuel at all. On suspicion of criminal behavior, the crew of the ship has been detained.
Last week’s loss of the Xelo ship aroused concerns about a possible gasoline spill in the Mediterranean. The Environment Ministry of Tunisia initiated an emergency response plan, and Italy dispatched a barge with pollution-cleaning equipment to the region.
The ship’s captain initially said it contained 750 tons of fuel. But after Tunisian and Italian divers inspected the sunken ship, they found no fuel in its containers, Rear Adm. Mezri Latif told a news conference Friday.
“There was only seawater inside the ship … The ship’s valves and pumps were corroded. We deduced that the ship had not been carrying oil for a certain period,” he said.
“The ship no longer represents an ecological danger for the Gulf of Gabes. There is no fuel leak. The Navy will oversee the wreckage extraction operation and the investigation will continue to determine the exact causes of the sinking,” the Tunisian officer said.
The Xelo had left the port of Damietta in Egypt heading for Malta, but was diverted from its route due to bad weather conditions.
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