Divers work at site of fuel-laden ship sunk off Tunisia

Inspection underway before pumping out the tanker, wrecked off the Tunisian coast last weekend.

An Italian navy vessel specialised in marine pollution control arrived on Tuesday in the Gulf of Gabes. It is expected to propose solutions for pumping out the Xelo's 750 tonnes of diesel cargo.

An encouraging fact is that the divers who inspected the hull concluded that there were no leaks.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged tanker was on its way from Egypt to Malta when it ran into some difficulties and took refuge in Tunisian waters to escape the bad weather. 7 crew members were rescued.

The Court of First Instance in Gabes said it had opened an investigation into the accident.

In the meantime, Malabo suspended on Thursday 395 vessels flying the flag of Equatorial Guinea "illegaly" according to the authorities.