It was also necessary to deploy the Italian Navy, who only regained control of the ship after a seven-hour military operation.

Guardian reported .

The migrants, whose nationalities have not yet been released, sneaked onto the cargo ship Galatea Seaways undetected, hoping to reach Europe. The ship designed to transport vehicles flying under the Turkish flag left Topçular in Turkey on June 7 and headed for Sète in southern France with a crew of 22, the Italian Ministry of Defense told the press.

However, upon reaching the deck, the stowaways were discovered by the crew, who subsequently

they tried to take the sailors hostage with knives

- announced the Ansa news agency. The ship's captain managed to request help on the radio, Turkey then reported the incident to the Italian authorities, as the ship was already sailing close to the Italian coast.

After a seven-hour military operation, special forces regained control of the ship and arrested the perpetrators, some of whom had barricaded themselves inside the ship.

Two helicopters from the navy, as well as ships from the coast guard and the financial guard, also took part in the operation, the Italian defense ministry said.

According to the ship monitoring website MarineTraffic, the cargo ship is currently anchored in front of the port of Naples. Italian authorities said they were continuing to search the ship for more stowaways.

Featured image source: DENİZCİLİK GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ / Twitter

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