Special forces have seized a tanker after it was hijacked by migrants who had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.

Authorities in Italy and Malta said the migrants had taken control of the Libya-bound ship on Wednesday and forced the crew to sail towards Europe.

It came after the Turkish oil tanker had rescued about 120 people, with Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini calling the hijacking "the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants".

Image: Several military personnel with weapons could be seen on board the tanker

A Maltese special forces team boarded the El Hiblu 1 vessel and restored control to the captain as it headed towards the Italian island of Lampedusa and Malta.

Several armed military personnel could be seen on board the tanker when it arrived at port in Malta's capital Valletta on Thursday morning.


Troops established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles off shore.

Image: The El Hiblu 1 had been bound for Libya when migrants took over

The captain had told them 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".

The special team that restored control was supported by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter.

There was no immediate word on the condition of El Hiblu 1's crew.

Image: The Turkish oil tanker was escorted as it was sailed into a port in Malta's capital

Italy and Malta have refused to open their ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants at sea, which has created numerous standoffs as European governments haggle over which will take them in.

Humanitarian organisations say migrants are mistreated and even tortured in Libya, and have protested over protocols to return migrants rescued offshore to the lawless northern African nation.

Mediterranea, a private group that operates a rescue ship and monitors how governments treat migrants, urged compassion for the group on the hijacked vessel.

Image: The El Hiblu 1 had rescued about 120 migrants when it was hijacked

It said it hoped European countries would act "in the name of fundamental rights, remembering that we are dealing with human beings fleeing hell".

Mass migration to Europe has dropped sharply since 2015, when the continent received a million refugees and migrants from countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The surge created a humanitarian crisis in which desperate travellers frequently drowned. Leading arrival spots such as Italy and Greece struggled to house large numbers of asylum seekers.