Hijacked Tanker Stormed by British Special Forces

World | October 26, 2020, Monday // 13:00
Bulgaria: Hijacked Tanker Stormed by British Special Forces internet

Seven people were detained when military forces stormed a tanker suspected to have been hijacked off the Isle of Wight reported BBC.

Sixteen members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) ended a 10-hour standoff, which started when stowaways on board the Liberian-registered Nave Andromeda reportedly became violent. The stowaways, believed to be Nigerians seeking UK asylum, were handed over to Hampshire Police on Sunday night. British forces descended on to the vessel by rope from four Royal Navy helicopters after nightfall. The operation by Special Boat Service commandos is exactly what this elite and secretive unit trains intensively for. 

A team of Royal Navy divers was deployed in one of the Royal Navy helicopters in case the vessel had been mined - but it had not.

The 22 crew members were found safe. The ship later docked in Southampton.

The 748ft-long (228m) ship left Lagos on 5 October, and was heading to Fawley Oil Refinery near Southampton. As it approached its destination just east of the Isle of Wight on Sunday morning it was reported that seven stowaways on board had become violent.

Concerns over the crew's welfare were raised at 10:04 GMT when the vessel was six miles off Bembridge, police said.

The 22 crew members locked themselves in the ship's citadel - secure area - and were safe. A three-mile exclusion zone was put in place around the vessel.

Hampshire Constabulary said late on Sunday: "Police are investigating this incident and we have a number of inquiries to carry out to establish the full circumstances."/BBC

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Tags: hijacked, tanker, ship

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