A judge from Tunisia detained seven members of a commercial ship’s crew. The commercial ship had sunk off the city of Gabes, a judicial official declared on Wednesday, as authorities thoroughly investigated if the vessel may have sunk deliberately.

Tunisian officials had said that this month the Xelo sank as it was sailing to Malta from Equatorial Guinea, loaded with up to 1,000 tonnes of oil and the Tunisian navy was able to rescue all crew members.

Officials later mentioned that a specialized diving team was asked to counter a probable environmental disaster. It found that the cargo was not loaded with fuel, but rather was seen to be empty.

Mohamed Karay, a Gabes’ court spokesman had earlier said that an investigation was conducted to see if the ship sank under usual circumstances or was made to sink to get compensation from insurance majors and to check the oil smuggling possibility as well.

The crew members of the ship were two Azerbaijanis, four Turks, and one from Georgia. The crew also added that the route documentation was lost. The members added that there had been some sort of issue with the information they shared.

Reuters was not able to contact the crew, the owner of the ship, or legal representatives immediately.

Reference: thenationalnews.com

Background:

Specialized Italian Naval Ship Inspects Tanker Ship Which Capsized Off Tunisia