Italian particular forces boarded a Turkish cargo vessel on Friday after the crew detected a bunch of unidentified individuals onboard, a few of them armed, Rome’s defence ministry stated on Friday, including the operation was nonetheless below manner.
Italian minister Guido Crosetto advised an occasion that there have been 15 “illegal migrants” on board, however didn’t present particulars on how they managed to get there or their nation of origin.
“Now all the crew must be liberated and the ship secured,” Crosetto stated, including operations have been ongoing.
A Turkish transport ministry assertion stated the Galata Seaways roll-on-roll-off cargo vessel was crusing from the Turkish port of Yalova to Sete, France.
It stated the crew seen the presence of different individuals aboard within the late morning on Friday by safety cameras, which confirmed them wandering across the boat presumably carrying sharp objects.
Italy’s Crosetto stated between two and three of them carried weapons.
The crew locked up themselves within the engine room and alerted maritime authorities in Turkey, which in flip contacted Italy and France.
They subsequently set sail in the direction of the southern Italian metropolis of Naples, the assertion stated.
(Reuters – Reporting by Angelo Amante, Federica Urso and Yesim Dikmen, enhancing by Nick Macfie)
