TRIPOLI 

Libyan coast guard authorities have denied accusations of hijacking an Italian fishing ship.

"This is an ordinary procedure and is not an act of piracy," Libyan Coast Guard commander Reda Issa told The Anadolu Agency.

On Friday, coast guard vessels escorted an Italian ship that violated Libya's territorial waters to the western port of Misurata.

He said coast guard authorities had ordered the ship's captain to move to the western port of Misurata to "ensure that the vessel was not involved in trafficking illegal immigrants."

According to Issa, contacts were made with the Italian side, which clarified that the vessel was a fishing ship.

"Therefore, the ship was released to an Italian warship that approached Libya's territorial waters," he added.

Issa denounced the Italian authorities' labeling of Libya's coast guards as "militias" after the ship's release.

"Italian officials have exaggerated the situation by describing the incident as piracy," he said.

The Italian navy announced Friday that its forces had taken control of the fishing vessel following an attempted piracy by a towing vessel belonging to Libyan security forces.

Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.

Since then, the country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each with its own institutions and military capacities.

Vying for legislative authority are the Tobruk-based House of Representatives and the General National Congress in Tripoli.

The two assemblies support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.