TUNIS, April 17 – Some countries have offered to help Tunisia avoid environmental damage after a merchant ship carrying up to a thousand tons of oil sank off the coast of Gabes, Tunisia’s defense ministry said on Sunday.
The ship en route from Equatorial Guinea to Malta sank on Friday and the Tunisian Navy rescued all seven crew members. Continue reading
The ship was carrying between 750 tons and a thousand tons of fuel and sent out a distress call seven miles from Gabes, which the Tunisian Navy responded to, officials said.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters that the Tunisian navy will work with countries that have expressed a desire to help control the environmental damage.
The merchant ship that sank April 15, 2022 off the coast of Gabes in Tunisia is seen in this handout picture taken November 12, 2017 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Dmitry Frolov/Handout via REUTERS
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Local media said Italy has offered its help and is expected to send a naval vessel specialized in dealing with maritime disasters.
On Saturday, Tunisian authorities launched an investigation into the sinking of the ship, which the environment ministry said was caused by bad weather.
Barriers were said to be erected to limit the spread of the fuel and seal off the ship before the spill was vacuumed.
The coast of the southern town of Gabes has been heavily polluted for years. Environmental organizations say industrial plants in the area are dumping waste directly into the sea.
Reporting by Tarek Amara; Adaptation by Muralikumar Anantharaman