French authorities were working on Friday to contain a fuel spill from the sunken Grimaldi ro-ro Grande America.
The 57,000-gt ship (built 1997) went down 330km west of La Rochelle earlier this week following a fire on deck.
French and British rescue teams saved all 27 crew.
Images released by the French navy this week showed flames and plumes of black smoke spewing from the ship as it listed sharply before sinking.
