Tunisia bans crew of sunk tanker to leave pending investigations

A Tunisian court has banned the crew of the vessel which sank last Saturday in the Gulf of Gabes, with 750 tons of diesel fuel in its tanks, to leave amid ongoing investigations.

Mohamed Karray, the spokesperson of Gabes Court of First Instance, Wednesday told local radio Mosaique fm that authorities have detained skipper Georgian, four Turks and two Azerbaijanis who were onboard the vessel when it sank.

They will be detained for 15 days, he told the media outlet adding that the ban is subject to renewal.

Xelo, navigating with Equatorial Guinea flag, was reportedly hailing from the Egyptian port of Damietta to Malta.

However, authorities of Damietta port have rejected the claim that the 58-long ship docked in Egypt.

“Xelo did not leave the port of Damietta in Egypt to go to Malta,” the port said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tunisia’s Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui said Sunday the North African country will demand compensation for intervention operations.