The MEP for the North-West of England said the EU had to get "very tough" with migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
Pressed on what should happen to those on board, he said: "Throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya".
Libya has long been a staging post for migrants from Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa wanting to reach Europe.
Nearly 37,000 immigrants landed on Italian shores last year, an increase of about 75% on the year before.
But with the prospect of a new immigration and asylum policy being voted on this autumn by MEPs, Mr Griffin is advocating measures to destroy boats used by illegal immigrants to reach the EU’s southern coastline.
In an interview with this week’s edition of BBC Parliament’s The Record Europe, he said: "If there’s measures to set up some kind of force or to help, say the Italians, set up a force which actually blocks the Mediterranean then we’d support that.
 Europe has sooner or later to close its borders or its simply going to be swamped by the Third World  Nick Griffin MEP
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"But the only measure, sooner or later, which is going to stop immigration and stop large numbers of sub-Saharan Africans dying on the way to get over here is to get very tough with those coming over.
"Frankly, they need to sink several of those boats.
"Anyone coming up with measures like that we’ll support but anything which is there as a ‘oh, we need to do something about it’ but in the end doing something about it means bringing them into Europe’ we will oppose."
Source: AHU – David A-O