Italian minister slams migrant ‘piracy’ after hijacked ship heads for Europe

Migrants took over a cargo ship near Libya and made the crew redirect it north toward Europe on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported, citing Italian and Maltese authorities. 

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini reportedly said that the ship was Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 and that its crew had rescued about 120 migrants. 

{mosads}Salvini, who is the head of an anti-migrant political party, called the event “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants that hijacked” a cargo ship.

Both Italy and Malta have reportedly said they will keep the ship out of their waters. Italian media is reporting that the ship was moving toward Libya to drop off the migrants when they took control of it six miles from the country’s coast, according to the AP.

The AP reports that information on the crew’s condition was not available.