Rescued Migrants Capture Tanker To Avoid Being Returned To Libya

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On March 27^th, Malta’s armed forces took control of the Turkish tanker Elhiblu 1, after it was allegedly seized by migrants.

The tanker rescued the migrants from a shipwreck and when it was approximately 6 nautical miles from Libya’s Tripoli made a sharp turn and started moving north towards Europe.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said that the ship had rescued about 120 people and described what happened as “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants” as the alleged hijackers. Malta has put the number of migrants rescued at 108.

“They are pirates. The only way they will see Italy is through a telescope.”

Authorities in Italy and Malta on Wednesday said that the group had hijacked the Turkish oil tanker Elhiblu 1 after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.\

Maltese authorities established communications with the captain of the tanker when it was approximately 30 nautical miles from Malta.

“The captain repeatedly stated that he was not in control of the vessel and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta.

An AFM Special Operations Unit team was dispatched to board and secure the vessel in order to hand over control of the ship to the Captain. The team was backed up by AFM Patrol Vessel P51, two Fast Interceptor Craft, and one the AFM’s AW 139 helicopters. P21 kept on escorting and monitoring the tanker throughout the operation.

The tanker, the crew and all migrants were escorted by the AFM to Boiler Wharf to be handed over to the Police for further investigations.”

Malta’s Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat said all international rules will be followed as police investigate the incident on the vessel.

The incident comes as the EU said it is ending navy patrols in the Mediterranean. The decision to suspend Operation Sophia in September 2018 followed a request by Italy.

Air missions will be extended for another six months. It will also rely on closer cooperation with Libya.

The Italian government has blamed Operation Sophia for continuing to bring rescued migrants to Italian shores.

Both Italy and Malta have refused to open their ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants at sea.

Humanitarian Organizations have long reported that migrants are being mistreated and even tortured in Libya. Protocols to return migrants that were rescued offshore to Libya were also protested.

EU members “alert the Libyan coast guard when refugees and migrants are spotted at sea so they can be taken back to Libya, despite knowing that people there are arbitrarily detained and exposed to widespread torture, rape, killings and exploitation,” said Matteo de Bellis, an international migration researcher for Amnesty International.

“This shameful decision has nothing to do with the needs of people who risk their lives at sea, but everything to do with the inability of European governments to agree on a way to share responsibility for them,” de Bellis said.

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