According to investigators the watch officer on board the Tunisian vessel Ulysse was talking on his phone, while the watch officer on the container ship Virginia did not attend to radar alarms. This caused the collision between the two ships in Corsica on October 7, which also led to an oil spill.
The container ship ‘CSL Virginia’ collided with the ferry ‘Ulysse’ near Corsica on Sunday, October 7. After the collision, the container ship’s hull was ruptured. As a result, a bunker spill of around 4 kilometres was reported off Corsica.
What is more, there were reports that thick oil was washed up along the beaches, which volunteers tried to get rid of with shovels and sacks.
The ferry was released from the container ship, on October 11. This came after the first attempt to separate the ships, which was unsuccessful. The ferry ‘Ulysse’ has left the Corsica and headed to Tunisia.
Speaking about the incident, Youssef Ben Romdhane, director general of sea transport in Tunisia’s commerce ministry, said that it was caused by a series of human errors.
Namely, the captain of the Tunisian boat was talking to his phone and was away from the radar screen. In addition, the Cypriot boat had anchored in an “inadequate” area, and it was the first time a ship had anchored in this location.
According to estimations, two ships sustained damages of at least 13.5 million euros, Moreover, the operation of cleaning coastal waters was estimated at 10 million euros.
