A tanker carrying 6,000 tons of solvent was in danger of sinking on Friday off the western coast of France after colliding with another ship, the online edition of the daily Ouest France reported.
Crew of the 120-metre-long YM Uranus, flying a Maltese flag, issued an SOS before dawn on Friday saying the ship was taking water after colliding with a cargo ship about 100 kilometres south-west of the isle of Ouessant off the Breton coast. It was not known if any of its cargo was spilling into the Atalntic Ocean.
The 13 crew members abandoned ship and were taken to safety by a French helicopter. The stricken tanker was traveling between the Italian port of Porto Marhera and the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
The YM Uranus belongs to the Turkish company Yilmar Shipping, based in Istanbul.
