VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — The military of European island nation Malta is reporting that migrants have hijacked a cargo ship in Libyan waters.

The Armed Forces of Malta said military personnel were standing by and the hijacked vessel still was in Libyan territory on Wednesday night.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini says the ship's crew rescued a group of migrants who are thought to have taken control and to be directing the ship toward Malta or Italy's Lampedusa island.

Salvini said "it would be the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants that hijacked" a cargo ship.