Collision of Tunisian and Cypriot ships: the responsibility is shared
The collision on 7 October 2018 off Cape Corsica between the freighter "Ulysses" belonging to the Tunisian Navigation Company (CTN) and the container ship "CLS Virginia" raised a controversy over the responsibility of each party.
After three months of investigation, the Tuniso-Franco-Cypriot commission delivered its verdict: a common human error shared between both the Tunisian and Cypriot parties is the cause of the accident.
The Commission's report was presented in Tunis by the Tunisian Ministry of Transport. He says the Ulysses ' deck officer was busy making private phone calls and was away from the radar screen that warns in case of danger."
For his part, the Cypriot officer had not paid attention to the radar alarms. The Virginia container ship wet in an "unsuitable area located on a sea route used by merchant vessels", according to Youssef Ben Romdhane, general manager of maritime transport within the Tunisian Ministry of Commerce.
At this stage, the damages caused to both vessels amounts to 15.4 million USD exclusive of coastal cleaning cost which could reach to 11.4 million USD.
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