“XELO” – ABANDONED AND LATER SANK OFF GABES / TUNISIA
(Recently renamed from “LIMAN” / “MELO”?)
According to Vesseltracker.com:
The “XELO”, issued a distress signal in bad weather on April 15, 2022, due to water ingress which flooded the engine room at Gabes Anchorage in the Gulf of Gabes.
All seven crew members, the Georgian captain, four Turks and two Azerbaijanis, were evacuated and briefly hospitalized for checks before being accomodated in a hotel.
The ship, loaded with 750 tons of fuel, was en route from Sfax to Damietta. It had left Sfax anchorage on April 9 heading south with missing AIS records between April 9-14.
The ship sank in the morning 3,3 miles off the coast on a water depth of 15 meters. No spill was observed yet.
The authorities were waiting for the weather to improve in terms of both the wind and the swell before sending down divers to check with more certainty on the state of the hull. The weather was still too poor to start on April 16. As a precaution, protective booms to contain any oil slick have been placed in the water around the wreck under the supervision of the military.
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VESSEL DETAILS:
“XELO” / Equatorial Guinea flag
TYPE: Gen cargo (Later conv to tanker)
IMO NO: 7618272
721 gt / 397 gt / 1010 mdwt
Delivered from Grave B.V., Scheepswerf – Grave / Netherlands (Yard no 66), in 1977.
Name history: (THE LAST FEW YEARS NOT 100% CONFIRMED)
- “UNION PEARL” from delivery in 1977 until 1989
- “PETREL” from 1989 until 1992
- “SNIPE” from 1992 until 1996
- “MULTI CARRIER” from 1996 until 2008
- “LIMAN” from 2008 until 2021
- “MELO” from 2021 until (04/2022?)
- “XELO” from (04/2022?) –
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ARCHIVE PHOTO:
Here seen as general cargo vessel “MULTI CARRIER” / reg. Kingstown, passing Hook of Holland, 25 May 1999, on her way from Rotterdam for sea.
@ photo – www.maritime-pics.com
