A man walks along the beach of Libya's Farwa Island, about 170 kilometers west of the capital and close to the border with Tunisia, on June 10. Photo: AFP

A tanker carrying 750 tons of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank Saturday off Tunisia's southeast coast, but officials said a large spill would likely be avoided.

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.

Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui, who traveled to the port of Gabes on Saturday to help oversee the response, said the situation was "under control."

"We think the hull is still watertight and there is no leakage for the moment. We think that the means we already have at our disposal will allow us to limit the accident," she said, adding that the government would not hesitate to appeal for foreign assistance if necessary.

The district court in Gabes said it had opened an investigation into the accident.

Court spokesperson Mohamed Karray said the tanker had issued a distress call before it "sunk this morning in Tunisian territorial waters."

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was headed from the Egyptian port of Damietta to Malta when it requested entry to Tunisian waters.

The tanker is 58 meters long and 9 meters wide, according to ship monitoring website vesseltracker.com.

It began taking water around 7 kilometers offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to the Tunisian environment ministry.

It said Tunisian authorities evacuated the seven-member crew.

AFP