Maltese armed forces on alert as hijacked merchant ship heads north

VALLETTA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The armed forces of Malta have been placed on high alert as a merchant vessel which has been hijacked by a group of migrants it rescued sails for Malta on Wednesday.

The ship, the El Hiblu 1 tanker, rescued a group of 108 migrants within Libya's search and rescue area but has been hijacked and forced to change course, a spokesperson for the armed forces of Malta confirmed on Wednesday.

According to the armed forces of Malta, the ship, which is flying the flag of Palau, a small island state in the western Pacific Ocean, had left from Turkey with an all Turkish crew whose conditions are still unknown.

At current speed, the ship is expected to reach Malta early on Thursday.

Multiple units have been placed on standby and waiting for any developments.

The vessel was en route to Libya, where it intended to drop off the rescued migrants. However, upon hearing that they were to be returned to Libya, the migrants reportedly seized control of the vessel. The hijacking reportedly occurred when the vessel was just 6 miles from the Libyan coast.

The spokesperson confirmed that reports of a hijacked ship had been received and that the situation was being monitored. The vessel was heading towards Malta and it was being tracked by the Libyan Coast Guard, said the spokesperson.

The vessel, the spokesperson noted, would not be allowed to enter Maltese territorial waters, and the authorities there were prepared for "any eventuality".

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said earlier on Wednesday that Italy's ports remain closed to the vessel, noting that "they are not shipwrecked migrants but pirates."