Two cargo ships have collided off the island of Corsica, with authorities fearing a catastrophic oil spill in the idyllic Mediterranean region. A Tunisian roll-on/roll-off ferry, the Ulysses, collided with the Cypriot registered container ship, the CLS Virginia.
The Ulysse, operated by the Tunisian operator CTN, struck the Cyprus-based CLS Virgina while it was anchored about 30 kilometres off the northern tip of the island at around 7:30am, the regional naval authority said.
According to the CTN’s published shipping schedule, the Ulysse was travelling from Genoa in Italy to the Tunisian port at Rades near Tunis.
The Virginia was not carrying any cargo at the time.
“The collision caused considerable damage, with an opening several metres long in the CLS Virginia’s hull,” the naval authority said, adding that the leaking liquid was spread over “several hundred metres”.
