Blue Sky M incident

In December 2014, Moldovan-flagged MV Blue Sky M left Korfez, Turkey heading for Rijeka in Croatia.

The alarm was raised because of suspected armed people on board, Greek state television reported, claiming that "illegal immigrants" were on the ship.

As the ship neared Santa Maria di Leuca, on mainland Italy's southernmost tip, Italian port authorities dispatched two helicopters as a precaution and boarded the ship with a team of six Italian coast guard officials.

"It was a real race against the clock", he said, adding: "Unlocking the engines was a difficult and delicate operation, but they managed to do it.

The Italian Red Cross initially said that four people were found dead on the ship but later withdrew its report.