Crew of ship hijacked off Libyan coast safe

By Zuhal Demirci

ANKARA (AA) – Six crew members on a tanker hijacked off the coast of Libya were safe, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

The Maltese Armed Forces had announced that it had taken control of the tanker on Thursday in an operation using speedboats and a helicopter.

The vessel had been hijacked the previous day by migrants rescued at sea who did not want to be returned to Libya.

The Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu 1 embarked last week from a shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul before being hijacked after picking up 108 migrants at sea.

The 52-meter ship had a six-person crew, including a Turkish captain, four Indians, and one Libyan.

The vessel concerned is a bunkering tanker according to Marine Traffic -- an open webpage providing real-time information on the movements of ships.

Writing by Can Erozden and Faruk Zorlu