Fuel-laden ship sinks off Tunisia coast

TUNIS: A tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank on Saturday in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia’s southeast coast, a spokesman for a local court said.

"The ship sank this morning in Tunisian territorial waters. For the moment, there is no leak," Mohamed Karray said, adding that a "disaster prevention committee will meet to decide on the measures to be taken".

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was headed from the Egyptian port of Damietta to the European island of Malta when it requested entry to Tunisian waters on Friday evening due to bad weather.

It began taking water around seven kilometres offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.