A tanker that picked up migrants off Libya has changed course for Europe, Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday, accusing those rescued of having hijacked the vessel.

The Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu I picked up the migrants on Tuesday evening in international waters where Libyan coastguards are responsible and then headed back to Tripoli.

But six nautical miles from port the ship suddenly changed course heading for the north, and was on Thursday evening halfway between Tripoli and Malta, according to Salvini.

"They're not shipwrecked, they're pirates!" Salvini tweeted, promising that they would not be allowed to disembark in Italy.

The Libyan authorities and the ship's operator in Tripoli were not immediately available for comment.

"We received reports of a pirated ship heading towards Malta or Lampedusa (off Sicily) and we're monitoring the situation," a Maltese coastguard spokesman told AFP.

Migrants in chaos-wracked Libya face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape, according to the United Nations and aid groups.

Following Rome's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, boats that pick up migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Boatloads of rescued migrants have in recent months refused to disembark in Libya, prompting the authorities there to use force.

Migrant arrivals from North Africa and the Middle East have been sharply reduced since a 2015 peak when Europe faced its worst migration crisis since World War II.</s>VALLETTA: Malta's armed forces said on Thursday (Mar 28) that they had taken control of a tanker that was hijacked by migrants it had rescued off Libya.

It said a special operations team is escorting the vessel to Malta where it was expected to arrive Thursday morning, to "be handed over to the police for further investigations".

The Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu I picked up the migrants on Tuesday evening in waters where Libyan coastguards are responsible, and then headed back to Tripoli.

However, six nautical miles from port the ship suddenly changed course and headed north toward Europe.

Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday the vessel had been hijacked, and vowed that the migrants would not be allowed to disembark in Italy.

The tanker was about 30 nautical miles from Malta when the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) established communications with the captain.

"The captain repeatedly stated that 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 AFM said in a statement.

"AFM Patrol Vessel P21 stopped the tanker from entering the Maltese territorial waters.

"An AFM Special Operations Unit team was dispatched to board and secure the vessel in order to hand over control of the ship to the captain."

It said the team was backed up by several naval vessels and a helicopter.

The German charity Sea-Eye, whose ship Alan Kurdi was in the rescue zone off Libya and which overheard radio messages between a European military aircraft and the tanker, said the ship picked up 108 migrants including women and children.

Migrants in chaos-wracked Libya face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape, according to the United Nations and aid groups.

Following Rome's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, boats that pick up migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Boatloads of rescued migrants have in recent months refused to disembark in Libya, prompting the authorities there to use force.

The European Union announced on Wednesday it will suspend ship patrols that have rescued tens of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean and brought them to Italy, in the face of deep resistance from Rome's populist government.

Migrant arrivals from North Africa and the Middle East have been sharply reduced since a 2015 peak when Europe faced its worst migration crisis since World War II.</s>VALLETTA (Reuters) - A small tanker that was hijacked by migrants off Libya docked in Malta’s port of Valletta on Thursday after Maltese special forces took control of the vessel, a Reuters witness said.

Cargo ship Elhiblu 1 had picked up 108 migrants stranded at sea, some of whom then hijacked the vessel when it became clear that it planned to take them back to Libya.

Maltese police arrested four men and the remainder of the migrants were disembarked and boarded onto buses, the witness said.

A Maltese military patrol boat stopped the ship from entering Maltese waters and a special operations team was then dispatched to board and secure the vessel, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said in a statement on Thursday.

The team was backed by two fast interceptor craft, another patrol boat and a helicopter, the AFM said.

“The captain repeatedly stated that 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,” it said in the statement.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday that Italy would not have opened its ports to “criminals” who had committed an act of piracy.</s>A Maltese special forces team has boarded a tanker that had been hijacked by migrants rescued at sea, and returned control to the captain, before escorting it to a Maltese port.

A Maltese special forces team has boarded a tanker that had been hijacked by migrants rescued at sea, and returned control to the captain, before escorting it to a Maltese port.

Armed troops stood guard on the ship's deck, and a dozen or so migrants were also visible, as the vessel docked at Boiler Wharf in the city of Senglea.

Several police vans were lined up on shore to take custody of the migrants for investigation, and four were led off the ship in handcuffs.

Authorities in Italy and Malta on Wednesday said that the group had hijacked the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea, and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north towards Europe.

Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini said the ship had rescued about 120 people and described what happened as "the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants" as the alleged hijackers.

Malta put the number of migrants rescued at 108.

The ship had been heading towards Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa and the island of Malta when Maltese forces intercepted it.

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

A patrol vessel stopped the tanker from entering Maltese waters, they said.

The special forces team that restored control to the captain was backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter.

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.

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.

Mediterranea, a private group that operates a rescue ship and monitors how governments treat migrants, urged compassion for the group on the hijacked vessel and 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 and leading arrival spots such as Italy and Greece struggled to house large numbers of asylum-seekers.

Along with the dangerous sea journey itself, those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean risk being stopped by Libya's coastguard and held in Libyan detention centres that human rights groups have described as bleak places where migrants allegedly suffer routine abuse.

EU members "alert the Libyan coastguard when refugees and migrants are spotted at sea so they can be taken back to Libya, despite knowing that people there are arbitrarily detained and exposed to widespread torture, rape, killings and exploitation", said Matteo de Bellis, an international migration researcher for Amnesty International.

EU countries, responding to domestic opposition to welcoming immigrants, have decided to significantly downscale an operation in the Mediterranean, withdrawing ships and continuing the mission with air surveillance only.

"This shameful decision has nothing to do with the needs of people who risk their lives at sea, but everything to do with the inability of European governments to agree on a way to share responsibility for them," Mr de Bellis said.</s>VALLETTA, Malta
• A group of migrants desperate not to go back to Libya made it safely to Europe on Thursday after commandeering the oil tanker that rescued them at sea — a drama that underlined contradictions in Europe’s migration policies and could discourage future rescues.

Both Italy and Malta initially refused entry to the Palau-flagged El Hiblu 1. But Maltese armed forces intercepted it overnight after confirming with the captain that he was navigating toward Europe against his will.

The 100 migrants, including 15 women and 47 claiming to be minors, left the tanker in a port near the Maltese capital of Valletta; five were handcuffed after being detained on suspicion of being the ringleaders.

Italy’s hard-line interior minister called the hijacking the “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants.”

But humanitarian groups rejected that label, saying they were victims of “Europe’s inhumane border policy,” citing reports that many migrants have been mistreated, raped and tortured in Libya.

The German humanitarian group Sea-Eye said its rescue ship, the Alan Kurdi, was in the area of the El Hiblu 1 when it heard radio communications between the tanker and a European aircraft monitoring the seas.

The aircraft asked the tanker to respond to two rubber boats, saying that the people on board were “in mortal danger” and that the Libyan coast guard was “out of service.” After the rescue, the captain reported to the aircraft that the migrants “are very upset and do not want to be brought back to Libya.”

However, the captain said the Libyan capital of Tripoli was the tanker’s destination.

Sea-Eye spokeswoman Carlotta Weibl said that they don’t have exact information of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1, but that “we don’t see it as piracy because those people were claiming their right. It was completely illegal for a European plane to send them back to Libya.”</s>VALLETTA, Malta — A group of migrants desperate not to go back to Libya made it safely to Europe on Thursday after commandeering the oil tanker that rescued them at sea – a drama that underlined contradictions in Europe’s migration policies and could discourage future rescues.

Both Italy and Malta initially refused entry to the Palau-flagged El Hiblu 1. But Maltese armed forces intercepted it overnight after confirming with the captain that he was navigating toward Europe against his will. Special forces boarded it and restored control to the crew.

The 100 migrants, including 15 women and 47 claiming to be minors, left the tanker in a port near the Maltese capital of Valletta; five were handcuffed after being detained on suspicion of being the ringleaders.

Italy’s hard-line interior minister called the hijacking the “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants.” But humanitarian groups rejected that label, saying they were victims of “Europe’s inhumane border policy,” citing reports that many migrants have been mistreated, raped and tortured in Libya.

The German humanitarian group Sea-Eye said its rescue ship, the Alan Kurdi, was in the area of the El Hiblu 1 when it heard radio communications between the tanker and a European aircraft monitoring the seas.

The aircraft asked the tanker to respond to two rubber boats, saying that the people on board were “in mortal danger” and that the Libyan coast guard was “out of service.” After the rescue, the captain reported to the aircraft that the migrants “are very upset and do not want to be brought back to Libya.” However, the captain said the Libyan capital of Tripoli was the tanker’s destination.

Sea-Eye spokeswoman Carlotta Weibl said that they don’t have exact information of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1, but that “we don’t see it as piracy because those people were claiming their right. It was completely illegal for a European plane to send them back to Libya.”

Migrants have long reported that commercial ships either ignore smugglers’ boats in distress, or merely stop to give them water, said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, humanitarian affairs adviser with Doctors Without Borders. Similar incidents could accelerate the trend.

“They are doomed whatever they do,” she said. “This is extremely disturbing for commercial ships. The shipping industry is trying to follow a tenant of international law, which is rescue. … But if you are a commercial ship on tight deadlines and you need to deliver goods, it is an impossible situation.”

The International Chamber of Shipping based in London expressed concern about the incident and said it would raise the issue with the U.N. International Maritime Organization.

“If a ship is directed to disembark rescued people in Libya, it creates a potential for conflict between the crew and desperate and frustrated people that might object to being returned,” ICS secretary-general Guy Platten said in a statement. He added that civilian merchant seafarers “can be severely affected by the traumatic situations they have to face, having complied with their legal and humanitarian obligation to come to the rescue of anyone found in distress at sea.”

The European Union has been training the Libyan coast guard in the hope that it will prevent migrants from entering international waters, where they have routinely been rescued, either by commercial ships or those run by humanitarian groups filling in the void after member countries significantly scaled down an EU operation in the Mediterranean.

But the contradiction lies in the fact that no EU member considers Libya, or any other northern African country, to be a “safe third country” where migrants can be returned without fear for their well-being. The EU also opposes the death penalty, and in extradition cases generally refuses to send people to countries where they might be killed or tortured.

Matthew Brook, the acting representative for the U.N. refugee agency in Libya, told reporters in Geneva that the conditions for many migrants in government-run detention centers in Libya were “terrible.” He relayed an anecdote from some migrants that electric shocks were administered to them in vats of water.

While Europe is reducing its own rescue mission, Italy and Malta have refused to accept aid group rescue ships in their ports. That has led to offshore standoffs with boats loaded with migrants, often weak from their journey and mistreatment in Libya, while EU nations haggle over their fate.

Many humanitarian groups have stopped taking part in rescues; in fact only the Alan Kurdi is currently active in the central Mediterranean. Doctors Without Borders suspended their operation in December due to port closures, administrative pressure on Panama to pull its flag, and containment measures meaning that fewer migrants were making it past the Libyan coast guard.

The policies have had the effect desired by populist leaders like Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Migrant arrivals in Italy were down dramatically last year to 23,370 from nearly 120,000 a year earlier, according to Interior Ministry figures. Deaths at sea also sank to the lowest levels in five years, 2,299, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Details of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1 remains sketchy, but the fact that the migrants made it to European soil makes it unlikely that they would be sent back to Libya.

Naval tracking signals show that the tanker was headed straight toward Libya when it deviated from its course, presumably for the rescue. After resuming toward Libya, it abruptly turned northward, suggesting the moment the hijackers took over, heading toward the island nation of Malta or Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa.

Maltese armed forces established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles offshore. The captain said 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 armed forces said.

A military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media said the migrants did not have weapons, but that the captain and crew were outnumbered and forced to surrender. Special forces backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter regained control of the ship, and it was escorted back to Malta with armed military personnel standing guard on deck.

The condition of the crew was not known, and they were not seen exiting the tanker. Malta officials said they were also being questioned.

The vessel’s owner, Salah al-Hiblu, said from Tripoli that the tanker was empty and was being captained by his brother, Nader, from Turkey. He said he received a call from Libyan naval guards, who asked him to contact his brother to rescue the migrants. They had resumed the voyage to Tripoli when the migrants “used force” and told him to go to Italy or Malta.

“The migrants told him, ‘we are not leaving or going back to Libya. We already left Libya to go to Europe,'” al-Hiblu said.</s>VALLETTA, Malta — A Maltese special operations team boarded a tanker on Thursday that had been hijacked by migrants after they were rescued at sea, returning control to the captain and escorting it to a Maltese port.

Armed military personnel stood guard on the ship’s deck, and a dozen or so migrants were also visible, as the vessel docked at Boiler Wharf in the Maltese city of Senglea. Several police vans were lined up on shore to take custody of the migrants for investigation.

The authorities in Italy and Malta said on Wednesday that the group had hijacked the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 after it rescued the migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, and then forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.

Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, who has taken hard line against immigration, said the ship had rescued about 120 people and contended that what happened represented “piracy on the high seas with migrants.” Malta has put the number of migrants rescued at 108.</s>Valetta - Maltese soldiers have taken control of a small tanker that was hijacked by migrants it had rescued off Libya, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said in a statement on Thursday. The vessel was being escorted into Valletta harbour by a patrol boat, a Reuters witness said.

The 108 migrants were picked up by the cargo ship Elhiblu 1 and hijacked the vessel when it became clear that it planned to take them back to Libya.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday that Italy would not have opened its ports to "criminals" who had committed an act of piracy.

The AFM said it established contact with the vessel’s captain when the tanker was 30 nautical miles off Malta.

"The captain repeatedly stated that 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 AFM added.

The army said one of its patrol boats stopped the ship from entering Maltese waters and a special operations team was then dispatched to board and secure the vessel.

The team was backed by two fast interceptor craft, another patrol boat and a helicopter.

It said the ship was now being escorted to Valletta harbour to be handed over to the Malta police for further investigations.

It did not say if its personnel needed to use force.</s>VALLETTA, Malta — A group of migrants desperate not to go back to Libya made it safely to Europe on Thursday after commandeering the oil tanker that rescued them at sea – a drama that underlined contradictions in Europe’s migration policies and could discourage future rescues.

Both Italy and Malta initially refused entry to the Palau-flagged El Hiblu 1. But Maltese armed forces intercepted it overnight after confirming with the captain that he was navigating toward Europe against his will. Special forces boarded it and restored control to the crew.

The 100 migrants, including 15 women and 47 claiming to be minors, left the tanker in a port near the Maltese capital of Valletta; five were handcuffed after being detained on suspicion of being the ringleaders.

Italy’s hard-line interior minister called the hijacking the “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants.” But humanitarian groups rejected that label, saying they were victims of “Europe’s inhumane border policy,” citing reports that many migrants have been mistreated, raped and tortured in Libya.

The German humanitarian group Sea-Eye said its rescue ship, the Alan Kurdi, was in the area of the El Hiblu 1 when it heard radio communications between the tanker and a European aircraft monitoring the seas.

The aircraft asked the tanker to respond to two rubber boats, saying that the people on board were “in mortal danger” and that the Libyan coast guard was “out of service.” After the rescue, the captain reported to the aircraft that the migrants “are very upset and do not want to be brought back to Libya.” However, the captain said the Libyan capital of Tripoli was the tanker’s destination.

Sea-Eye spokeswoman Carlotta Weibl said that they don’t have exact information of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1, but that “we don’t see it as piracy because those people were claiming their right. It was completely illegal for a European plane to send them back to Libya.”

Migrants have long reported that commercial ships either ignore smugglers’ boats in distress, or merely stop to give them water, said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, humanitarian affairs adviser with Doctors Without Borders. Similar incidents could accelerate the trend.

“They are doomed whatever they do,” she said. “This is extremely disturbing for commercial ships. The shipping industry is trying to follow a tenant of international law, which is rescue. … But if you are a commercial ship on tight deadlines and you need to deliver goods, it is an impossible situation.”

The International Chamber of Shipping based in London expressed concern about the incident and said it would raise the issue with the U.N. International Maritime Organization.

“If a ship is directed to disembark rescued people in Libya, it creates a potential for conflict between the crew and desperate and frustrated people that might object to being returned,” ICS secretary-general Guy Platten said in a statement. He added that civilian merchant seafarers “can be severely affected by the traumatic situations they have to face, having complied with their legal and humanitarian obligation to come to the rescue of anyone found in distress at sea.”

The European Union has been training the Libyan coast guard in the hope that it will prevent migrants from entering international waters, where they have routinely been rescued, either by commercial ships or those run by humanitarian groups filling in the void after member countries significantly scaled down an EU operation in the Mediterranean.

But the contradiction lies in the fact that no EU member considers Libya, or any other northern African country, to be a “safe third country” where migrants can be returned without fear for their well-being. The EU also opposes the death penalty, and in extradition cases generally refuses to send people to countries where they might be killed or tortured.

Matthew Brook, the acting representative for the U.N. refugee agency in Libya, told reporters in Geneva that the conditions for many migrants in government-run detention centers in Libya were “terrible.” He relayed an anecdote from some migrants that electric shocks were administered to them in vats of water.

While Europe is reducing its own rescue mission, Italy and Malta have refused to accept aid group rescue ships in their ports. That has led to offshore standoffs with boats loaded with migrants, often weak from their journey and mistreatment in Libya, while EU nations haggle over their fate.

Many humanitarian groups have stopped taking part in rescues; in fact only the Alan Kurdi is currently active in the central Mediterranean. Doctors Without Borders suspended their operation in December due to port closures, administrative pressure on Panama to pull its flag, and containment measures meaning that fewer migrants were making it past the Libyan coast guard.

The policies have had the effect desired by populist leaders like Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Migrant arrivals in Italy were down dramatically last year to 23,370 from nearly 120,000 a year earlier, according to Interior Ministry figures. Deaths at sea also sank to the lowest levels in five years, 2,299, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Details of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1 remains sketchy, but the fact that the migrants made it to European soil makes it unlikely that they would be sent back to Libya.

Naval tracking signals show that the tanker was headed straight toward Libya when it deviated from its course, presumably for the rescue. After resuming toward Libya, it abruptly turned northward, suggesting the moment the hijackers took over, heading toward the island nation of Malta or Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa.

Maltese armed forces established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles offshore. The captain said 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 armed forces said.

A military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media said the migrants did not have weapons, but that the captain and crew were outnumbered and forced to surrender. Special forces backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter regained control of the ship, and it was escorted back to Malta with armed military personnel standing guard on deck.

The condition of the crew was not known, and they were not seen exiting the tanker. Malta officials said they were also being questioned.

The vessel’s owner, Salah al-Hiblu, said from Tripoli that the tanker was empty and was being captained by his brother, Nader, from Turkey. He said he received a call from Libyan naval guards, who asked him to contact his brother to rescue the migrants. They had resumed the voyage to Tripoli when the migrants “used force” and told him to go to Italy or Malta.

“The migrants told him, ‘we are not leaving or going back to Libya. We already left Libya to go to Europe,'” al-Hiblu said.</s>A Maltese special operations team boarded a tanker Thursday that had been hijacked by migrants rescued at sea and recaptured control of it before escorting it to a Maltese port. Italy’s hard-line interior minister slammed the migrants as pirates, but aid groups rejected that label, saying the European Union’s policy of sending migrants back to lawless Libya was to blame.

Armed military personnel stood guard on the ship’s deck, and a dozen or so migrants were also visible, as the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 docked Thursday at Boiler Wharf in the city of Senglea. Five suspected ringleaders were led off in handcuffs.

In all, the Turkish tanker rescued 77 men, 19 women and 12 minors, including toddlers, Malta officials said. One pregnant woman and one child were being treated at a hospital as a precaution.

Authorities in Italy and Malta on Wednesday said the group had hijacked the vessel after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.

Maltese armed forces established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles offshore. The captain said 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 armed forces said.

No details were given of what force or threats were used, and there was no immediate word on the condition of El Hiblu 1’s crew.

A military official not authorized to speak to the media said the migrants did not have weapons but that the captain and crew were outnumbered and compelled to surrender.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday described the takeover as “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants” as the alleged hijackers.

Salvini, who insisted the ship would not be allowed to dock in Italy on Thursday praised the interception by Malta.

“Immigration is managed by criminals and should be blocked by any legal means necessary,” Salvini was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.

Humanitarian organizations rejected Salvini’s characterization of piracy, saying that migrants have been repeatedly mistreated, raped and tortured in Libya. They have long protested EU protocols to return migrants rescued offshore to the lawless northern African nation.

The aid group Sea Watch said the migrants’ actions “were in self-defense against the deadly consequences forced upon them by Europe’s inhumane border policy.”

The ship had been heading toward Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa and the island nation of Malta when Maltese forces intercepted it. The special team that restored control to the captain was backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter that the nation’s armed forces had conducted a “sensitive operation on high seas.”

“We do not shirk responsibility despite our size,” he said, pledging to follow international rules.

Still, both 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 who will take them in.

A private group that operates a rescue ship and monitors how governments treat migrants, Mediterranea, urged compassion for the group on the hijacked vessel in Malta. 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 1 million refugees and migrants from countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The surge created a humanitarian and political crisis in which desperate migrants frequently drowned at sea when overloaded smuggling boats capsized. Key arrival spots such as Italy and Greece have then struggled to house large numbers of asylum-seekers.

Along with the dangerous sea journey itself, those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean risk being stopped by Libya’s coast guard and held in Libyan detention centers where human rights groups say beatings, rapes, abuse and torture are routine.

EU members “alert the Libyan coast guard when refugees and migrants are spotted at sea so they can be taken back to Libya, despite knowing that people there are arbitrarily detained and exposed to widespread torture, rape, killings and exploitation,” said Matteo de Bellis, an expert on migrants for Amnesty International.

European Union countries, facing some domestic opposition to welcoming immigrants, have decided to significantly downscale an EU rescue operation in the Mediterranean and have decided in principle to withdraw their ships, which would mean continuing the mission with air surveillance only. A formal decision has to be made by Sunday, when the mission’s mandate expires.

“This shameful decision has nothing to do with the needs of people who risk their lives at sea, but everything to do with the inability of European governments to agree on a way to share responsibility for them,” De Bellis said.

Commercial ships have been increasingly caught between European governments hostile to taking in new migrants and the international maritime law’s obligation to save people needing help at sea.

In November, dozens of migrants seized control of a container ship that had picked them up in the Mediterranean, barricading themselves inside and refusing to disembark in the Libyan port of Misrata. After 10 days, Libyan authorities forcibly removed them from the ship and brought them to a detention center.

During the standoff, several migrants on the vessel told the Associated Press that six commercial ships had seen their rickety boat foundering but passed them by before they were picked up by the seventh.
The Maltese Navy seizes control of commercial tanker Elhiblu 1, which was hijacked by migrants off the coast of Libya yesterday. The tanker is now docked in the Maltese capital, Valletta.