<p>A tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank Saturday off Tunisia's southeast coast, but officials said a large spill could be avoided.</p>.<p>The crew of the Xelo vessel had issued a distress call on Friday evening and sought shelter in Tunisian waters from bad weather before going down in the Gulf of Gabes in the morning, the authorities said.</p>.<p>Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui said on Saturday that "the situation is under control" in an interview aired on state television.</p>.<p>"There are minimal leaks, which are not even visible to the naked eye and fortunately the oil is evaporating, so there should not be a disaster in the Gulf of Gabes," said Mohamed Karray, spokesman for a court in Gabes.</p>.<p>The spokesman had said earlier that the tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel had issued the distress call before it "sunk this morning in Tunisian territorial waters".</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>The tanker is 58 metres (63 yards) long and nine metres wide, according to ship monitoring website vesseltracker.com.</p>.<p>It began taking water around seven kilometres (over four miles) offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.</p>.<p>It said Tunisian authorities evacuated the seven-member crew.</p>.<p>Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui was travelling to Gabes "to evaluate the situation... and to take necessary preventive decisions in coordination with the regional authorities", a ministry statement said.</p>.<p>Authorities have activated "the national emergency plan for the prevention of marine pollution with the aim of bringing the situation under control and avoiding the spread of pollutants".</p>.<p>Court spokesman Karray said the Georgian captain, four Turks and two Azerbaijanis were briefly hospitalised for checks and were now in a hotel.</p>.<p>The defence, interior, transport and customs ministries were working to avoid "a marine environmental disaster in the region and limit its impact", the environment ministry said.</p>.<p>Before the ship sank, the ministry had described the situation as "alarming" but "under control".</p>.<p>The Gulf of Gabes was traditionally a fishing area but activists say it has suffered from pollution from phosphate processing industries based nearby and the presence of a pipeline bringing oil from southern Tunisia.</p>.<p>The last maritime accident involving the country was in October 2018, when Tunisian freighter Ulysse slammed into the Cyprus-based Virginia anchored about 30 kilometres (20 miles) off the northern tip of the French island of Corsica, sending hundreds of tonnes of fuel spilling into the Mediterranean.</p>.<p>It took several days of maritime manoeuvres to disentangle the boats and pump some 520 cubic metres of propulsion fuel, which had escaped tanks.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>A tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank Saturday off Tunisia's southeast coast, but officials said a large spill could be avoided.</p>.<p>The crew of the Xelo vessel had issued a distress call on Friday evening and sought shelter in Tunisian waters from bad weather before going down in the Gulf of Gabes in the morning, the authorities said.</p>.<p>Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui said on Saturday that "the situation is under control" in an interview aired on state television.</p>.<p>"There are minimal leaks, which are not even visible to the naked eye and fortunately the oil is evaporating, so there should not be a disaster in the Gulf of Gabes," said Mohamed Karray, spokesman for a court in Gabes.</p>.<p>The spokesman had said earlier that the tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel had issued the distress call before it "sunk this morning in Tunisian territorial waters".</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>The tanker is 58 metres (63 yards) long and nine metres wide, according to ship monitoring website vesseltracker.com.</p>.<p>It began taking water around seven kilometres (over four miles) offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.</p>.<p>It said Tunisian authorities evacuated the seven-member crew.</p>.<p>Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui was travelling to Gabes "to evaluate the situation... and to take necessary preventive decisions in coordination with the regional authorities", a ministry statement said.</p>.<p>Authorities have activated "the national emergency plan for the prevention of marine pollution with the aim of bringing the situation under control and avoiding the spread of pollutants".</p>.<p>Court spokesman Karray said the Georgian captain, four Turks and two Azerbaijanis were briefly hospitalised for checks and were now in a hotel.</p>.<p>The defence, interior, transport and customs ministries were working to avoid "a marine environmental disaster in the region and limit its impact", the environment ministry said.</p>.<p>Before the ship sank, the ministry had described the situation as "alarming" but "under control".</p>.<p>The Gulf of Gabes was traditionally a fishing area but activists say it has suffered from pollution from phosphate processing industries based nearby and the presence of a pipeline bringing oil from southern Tunisia.</p>.<p>The last maritime accident involving the country was in October 2018, when Tunisian freighter Ulysse slammed into the Cyprus-based Virginia anchored about 30 kilometres (20 miles) off the northern tip of the French island of Corsica, sending hundreds of tonnes of fuel spilling into the Mediterranean.</p>.<p>It took several days of maritime manoeuvres to disentangle the boats and pump some 520 cubic metres of propulsion fuel, which had escaped tanks.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>