The tanker sank on Saturday April 16 in the south-east of Tunisia, with 750 tonnes of diesel on board.
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The dreaded ecological disaster has been avoided for the time being. The divers who inspected the hull of the oil tanker that sank on Saturday April 16 near Tunisia, with 750 tonnes of diesel on board, detected no “no leaks”assured the Tunisian Ministry of the Environment on Sunday.
The ship, which sank in the Gulf of Gabès, in the south-east of the country, “sinked nearly 20 meters deep, in a horizontal position, and does not show any cracks”, according to the authorities. The ministry added that during the rescue, rescuers “made sure to close the holds to avoid diesel leaks and the divers found that they are intact”. Floating pollution control booms were installed around the wreckage.
The Gabès public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to determine the causes of the accident. The Ministry of Transport is trying to “check the exact nature of the vessel’s activity and its route over the past few weeks”. Local media have recalled the proximity of the Gulf of Gabès to Libya, a major oil-producing country, whose coasts have been the scene of hydrocarbon trafficking in recent years.