Israeli navy responds to incident involving foreign cargo ship in Haifa bay

(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

FILE — Israeli Port security personal on a naval boat, left, and an Israeli Police boat sail during a drill simulating an attack at the port of Haifa, northern Israel, Monday, March 15, 2010.

Two suspects were reportedly arrested, after stowaways attempted to take over the ship.

The Israeli navy took control of the MSC Canberra, a cargo ship sailing from Turkey under a Panamanian flag, after unidentified people on board attempted to take over.

According to a press release by Israel’s navy, a fire started during the altercation. Israeli public broadcaster Kann reported that two suspects had been arrested. A press release by the IDF said the case was closed at 2:30 pm local time, and only one person had been arrested, in coordination with the ship’s captain.

The navy and police managed to take control of the situation by the time information was cleared for publication by Israel’s censor office.

Reports said the incident was suspected to be criminal in nature and not terror-related. Further details were barred from publication by the military censor.

The ship departed Mersin shortly after noon on Friday, and was expected to land in Haifa on Saturday, before making its way to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod.

According to satellite imagery, the ship had been at anchor in Israeli territorial waters since Saturday noon, having experienced haphazard movement beforehand.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the shipping conglomerate headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that owns the ship was contacted for comment.

This is a developing story.