A Turkish cargo ship, which spent the night off the coast of Naples following a hijack attempt by armed stowaways, has left for its destination in France after Italian security forces carried out a rescue operation.
According to the MarineTraffic website, which shows the civil maritime traffic around the world, the Turkish-flagged cargo ship Galata Seaways departed for the French port of Sete at noon after Italian authorities completed their investigation on Saturday.
The prosecutor's office accused three of the 15 irregular migrants of carrying weapons, and it was reported that the Italian security forces seized two knives and a utility knife during their search.
Meanwhile, four of the 15 migrants who were taken to the Naples Police Department after being removed from the ship were referred to a hospital due to health problems.
Among those hospitalized were a pregnant woman, a person in generally poor condition, and a person who was thought to have a broken ankle and suffered from severe hypothermia.
In a separate report, Italian news agency ANSA said nine out of the 15 migrants were Iraqi, four were Syrian, and one was Iranian, and the identity of the person who was hospitalized due to hypothermia could not be determined yet.
'All ended well'
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told reporters that the stowaways took control of the ro-ro ship, which was sailing from Türkiye's Yalova province to France.
Following the operation by two navy helicopters, coast guard personnel and customs police, control of the ship was regained off Naples.
"The ship's hijackers have been captured. All ended well," Crosetto wrote on Twitter and congratulated security forces taking part in the operation to regain control of the ship and rescue the 22-member crew.
Türkiye's General Directorate of Maritime Affairs (DGM) said relevant authorities were alerted at 0820 GMT (11:20 am Turkish time) that 15 stowaways with knives were detected onboard.
The crew had locked themselves in the engine room and managed to alert maritime authorities in Türkiye.
ANSA reported that the captain of the ship saw two people with knives wandering in the engine room and issued the alarm.
Source: TRTworld.com