By Zuhal Demirci</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Six crew members on a tanker hijacked off the coast of Libya were safe, diplomatic sources said Thursday.</p> <p>The Maltese Armed Forces had announced that it had taken control of the tanker on Thursday in an operation using speedboats and a helicopter.</p> <p>The vessel had been hijacked the previous day by migrants rescued at sea who did not want to be returned to Libya.</p> <p>The Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu 1 embarked last week from a shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul before being hijacked after picking up 108 migrants at sea.</p> <p>The 52-meter ship had a six-person crew, including a Turkish captain, four Indians, and one Libyan.</p> <p>The vessel concerned is a bunkering tanker according to Marine Traffic — an open webpage providing real-time information on the movements of ships.</p> <p><br>
Writing by Can Erozden and Faruk Zorlu
