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Judges in Catania ordered Mohammed Ali Malek, a Tunisian national, to serve 18 years in jail for multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy after the packed boat capsized after colliding with a freighter coming to its aid.

Syrian Mahmoud Bikhit, accused of being his first mate, was handed a five-year sentence for his role in the tragedy off the Libyan coast that saw Italian forensic scientists spend months sorting through decomposed body parts to count the victims.

The men were ordered to pay nine million euros ($9.5 million) each in compensation.

Both had claimed they were simple refugees and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers.

But survivors told investigators that Malek, who had lived in Italy in the past, was the captain. And that it was his lack of sailing skills that caused the deadly collision.

"I spent two years and six months in Italy and I have a young son with an Italian woman: I want to marry her and recognise the baby," Malek told the court in a plea before the verdict.

"It's the truth. I've always told the truth. Just as I immediately gave (police) my real name, and told them I was a passenger," he said.

The boat was carrying people largely from The Gambia, Senegal and Mali, as well as Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia. Only 28 survived.

Up to 900 people were packed into the 27-metre (90-foot) boat when it left Libya, according to forensic scientists who spent months examining body bags, finding that many contained the remains of more than one person.

Firefighters who recovered the mangled bodies from the rotting ship said they had been "packed in like on the trains for Auschwitz".

Over 12,000 people are known to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the current migrant crisis erupted in 2013. Aid agencies say it is likely many more disappeared without trace after being abandoned on the high seas by traffickers.

The departures have not stopped despite the turn in the weather as winter sets in. A record number of 175,000 people have arrived on Italy's shores this year, with another 678 brought to Catania on Monday, including a newborn baby.