Sixteen crewmen and three passengers would be safely locked in the cabins, the captain and five other men holed up in the armored bridge, the pirate ship now under the control of the Italian special forces but the foreigners who a few hours ago, under the threat of weapons, they assumed command and barricaded themselves in the meanders of the hold.
The operation carried out by the Italian Navy to thwart the seizure of a freighter flying the Turkish flag by about fifteen immigrants, some of whom armed with knives, who – in the late morning of today – in the Tyrrhenian Sea (just below the Gulf of Naples) they allegedly threatened the captain and crew of the Turkish ship “Galata seaways” bound for France. These would be people who secretly embarked on departure from Turkey with the aim of reaching Europe but would have been discovered by the crew.
The ship left the Turkish port of Topcular on Wednesday and was due to arrive in France tomorrow. About ninety miles south of Naples, the sudden deviation of the route at the time of the hijacking.
To raise the alarm, the commander himself managed to contact the Ankara search and rescue center with an urgent request for assistance. The ship is now located a few miles below Sorrento, isolated by the special forces of the Italian Navy.
The Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, a guest of Bruno Vespa at the Forum in the farm, gave the news of what was happening. “Fifteen illegal immigrants – Crosetto communicated – have taken control of a Turkish ship off the coast of Naples, kidnapping 22 crew members. The Italian special forces stationed in Brindisi have intervened, they have regained control of the ship. Now the crewing and securing the ship”.
The situation was also followed by the French Sar Center according to which there were two immigrants armed with knives and the ship was directed to Setè in France. The attack on the captain and crew took place about 90 miles southwest of Naples. The crew immediately withdrew to the vessel’s protected citadel and headed for Naples.
On the spot, called to intervene, a boarding team from the San Marco, taken off from Brindisi and two ships of the Coast Guard, the Gregoretti, and the Montecimone of the Guardia di Finanza. The special forces, who arrived with two helicopters, neutralized the 15 immigrants who had hidden on the ship, regaining control of the boat
“The operation is still in progress, our special forces, which are the men of the San Marco battalion stationed in Brindisi, are still cleaning up”, the latest information provided by Minister Crosetto.