Ship sinks off Delimara

The Bahamian-flagged ship Fas Provence sunk early yesterday morning about 80 nautical miles off Delimara.

Transport Malta said the ship sank at 4 a.m. within international waters covered by the service area of the Malta Coast Radio Station operated by the Armed Forces of Malta.

The AFM had been following the troubled towing operation of the 130-metre long vessel, an unmanned container ship registered in Bahamas with no cargo onboard.

Transport Malta said the vessel posed a serious navigation hazard because of recent gale force winds.

Malta Radio was informed by one of the tug boats on Thursday that the condition of the ship was deteriorating quickly and the vessel was taking in water as it listed to one side.

The AFM deployed an aircraft to assess the situation and all necessary alerts were raised.

Both Transport Malta and the AFM are monitoring the situation for any possible pollution.