An Italian navy ship has taken back to Italy the first 12 migrants from newly opened asylum processing centers in Albania following a court decision in Rome.

The first 16 migrants rescued at sea while trying to reach Europe by way of Italy arrived at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Wednesday aboard an Italian navy vessel, marking an extraordinary change in the handling of Mediterranean migration.

An Italian coastguard vessel collected migrants held in reception centres in Albania on Saturday to transfer them to Italy, after a court ruling dealt a blow to Rome's plans to house migrants picked up at sea outside the EU.