Valletta, Mar 30 (IANS): Three African teenagers were charged in Malta on Saturday with hijacking an oil tanker that had rescued them and others off the coast of Libya.
The three migrants were among 108 Africans rescued by the the El Hiblu 1 tanker earlier this week. But they reportedly hijacked it on Wednesday after being told they would be returned to Libya.
The migrants reportedly threatened the crew and forced them to change direction of the tanker towards Malta once they realised that they were going to be returned to Libya.
The three youth, aged 15, 16 and 19, appeared in court on Saturday to face charges of having unlawfully seized control of the ship, a crime which under Maltese law is punishable by 7 to 30 years jail, the BBC reported.
Two of the teenagers are from Guinea and a third from Ivory Coast. All three are minors and deny the charges. They face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty. They told the tanker's captain to head north towards Europe instead, reports say.
A patrol vessel later stopped the tanker from entering Maltese territorial waters and a special operations team was dispatched to board and secure the vessel, the Armed Forces of Malta said in a statement.
Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said all international rules will be followed as the police investigate the incident.
The latest incident came as the EU said it was ending navy patrols in the Mediterranean.