By STACY MEICHTRY
ROME—Forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi have seized an Italian ferry in the port of Tripoli, detaining its crew, a senior Italian official and the ship's owner said Sunday.
The crew of the Asso 22—eight Italians, two Indians and one Ukrainian—was detained Saturday evening by armed port guards who boarded the ship, according to Mario Mattioli, chief executive of Augusta Offshore spa, a Naples-based shipping company that owns the vessel.
"Unfortunately the Asso 22 has been caught up in this situation," Mr. Mattioli said, adding that he was in contact with Italian authorities about the matter.
The ship is one of several vessels that regularly ferry employees from a nearby oil rig operated by Italian energy company Eni SpA to Tripoli, Mr. Mattioli said. A group of Libyan Eni employees, who work on the rig, had taken the Asso 2 to Tripoli and safely disembarked on Saturday before the ship was commandeered, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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