Naval military and police forces on Sunday seized control of the MSC Canberra, a cargo ship sailing from Turkey under a Panamanian flag, after a distressed call was sent suggesting unidentified individuals on board had threatened to set it on fire so as to usurp control of the vessel.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said one stowaway was arrested and no casualties were reported in the highly unusual incident, which is not believed to have been terror-related.
According to available details, the MSC Canberra departed Mersin, a port city in southern Turkey, around noon Friday, and was expected to arrive in Haifa on Saturday, before making its way to the Ashdod Port in southern Israel.
Satellite images show that the ship, with 24 people on board, had been at anchor in Israeli territorial waters since Saturday noon, having experienced haphazard movement beforehand.
At around 3 a.m. on Sunday, the ship sent out a distress call, which was picked up by the Haifa Port Control Center, which alerted the police. The Israeli Navy was called in once the complexity of the incident became clear.
A police source said that two stowaways aboard the ship began rioting and had stormed its bridge, where they barricaded themselves and threatened to set the ship on fire.
According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the navy used drones to gather information and monitor the situation and dispatched naval commandos to search the vessel, in coordination with the ship's crew.
Several hours after the incident began, Israeli naval commandos took control of the ship and arrested one of the stowaways, a Turkish national.
The man was transferred to police custody for questioning. The Turkish consul in Israel is expected to meet with him.
Israel is highly dependent on its maritime shipping lanes, as some 90% of its imports arrive via the sea. The INF plays a pivotal role in defending civilian shipping lanes Israel's exclusive economic zone.
The navy is also tasked with securing the offshore natural gas drilling rigs, as they are clear targets for the country's enemies.
