The ship, which was traveling from Equatorial Guinea to Malta, requested to enter Tunisian waters on Friday night due to bad weather. It sank near Gabes and the Tunisian navy rescued all seven crew members. After a check-up at the hospital, all seven were taken to a hotel. The Xelo carried between 750 and 1,000 tons of fuel. The tanker was 58 meters (190 feet) long and nine meters wide, according to the ship tracking website Vesseltracker.com. In a statement sent to Reuters, the Ministry of Defense said that in order to control the environmental damage, the Tunisian navy will cooperate with countries that had expressed their desire to help. Reports on Saturday said there was no leak at that point. Local media reported that Italy had offered to help and that it was expected to send a warship specializing in dealing with maritime disasters. On Saturday, the Tunisian authorities launched an investigation into the sinking of the ship, which according to the Ministry of Environment was caused by bad weather. He said dams would be set up to limit the spread of fuel and blockage from the ship before the leak was aspirated. The coast of the southern city of Gabes has been heavily polluted for years, with environmental groups saying industrial plants in the area are dumping waste directly into the sea.
