LONDON (AP) – Seven stoves were seized by British naval special forces when they attacked an oil tanker in the English Channel, police said on Monday, arresting them on suspicion of kidnapping.
Hampshire police said the men, believed to be from Nigeria, were “detained at several police stations on suspicion of seizing a ship or using force through threats or force.” They have not been charged.
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The 22 crew members of Nave Andromeda were “safe and well” after the raid, which came out after dark on Sunday, police said. The Special Boat Service Commando was unloaded from the helicopter by rope to the tanker, whose crew locked themselves in a safe part of the ship called the Locked. Within minutes Stoveway was in custody.
Maritime tracking websites showed the ship arrived at port in Southampton on the south coast of England as early as Monday.
Police said officers were talking to crew members to determine what happened.
The ship left Lagos, Nigeria on October 6 and was to dock at Southampton on Sunday morning.
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Navios Tanker Management, which operates the Liberian-registered ship, said the ship’s master was “concerned for the crew’s safety due to the increasingly hostile behavior of the stoveways.” The 10-hour hurdle occurred when the tanker returned to an area a few miles southeast of Islewf Witt, south of Southampton.
Bob Sanguenetti, chief executive of UK Chamber Shipping Shipping, said: “I think we’ve got all the features of this situation where there are probably a number of stoves in the UK seeking political asylum.” “At some point they became aggressive.”
“Clearly no one knew how aggressive they were, whether they were armed or not, what their motives were, because at that stage there would be confusion.”
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Coast guards rushed the helicopter to the scene, and officers imposed an exclusion zone of three miles around the ship. The UG government said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Preeti Patel had approved military action on suspicion of hijacking.
The Special Boat Service is the Royal Navy’s elite maritime counter-terrorism unit, and the government never directly comments on its actions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he could not comment on “operational details.”
“Both the police and the armed forces did a great job and I am very grateful for what they did to protect our shores,” he said.
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