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After weeks of traveling from Africa, an oil tanker should have docked in southern England. Instead, it anchored off the Isle of Wight, with stowaways aboard.
Seven people were arrested on a tanker after hours of full-scale operation off the coast of the Isle of Wight. Special forces monitored the situation on the ship and arrested seven people, the Defense Ministry tweeted on Sunday night. Previously, the police and coast guard had been on duty for hours around the tanker Nave Andromeda after it zigzagged a few kilometers offshore and unexpectedly anchored. Interior Minister Priti Patel thanked those involved on Twitter for their commitment.
The tanker is anchored off the British coast: it is not yet clear who is on board. (Source: AP / dpa)
“We have been informed that there are several stowaways on board who have made verbal threats against the crew,” a Hampshire police spokesman said late at night. “No injuries were reported.” Local media had initially taken up a hijacking attempt, but the shipowner’s lawyers dismissed it in the afternoon, according to the BBC. It was “100 percent kidnapping free,” said Tatham & Co. law firm, which represents the shipowners. Stowaways have been known for some time on board.
Zigzag course off the Isle of Wight
The 228-meter-long, more than 42,000-ton tanker, which sails under the Liberian flag and belongs to the fleet of the Greek company Navios Tankers Management, left Nigeria in early October and should have arrived at the port of Southampton on Sunday morning. tomorrow. However, the argument with the stowaways probably prevented the arrival at first.
According to Richard Meade, a reporter for the maritime magazine Lloyd’s List, seven stowaways in Nigeria are said to have gained access to the tanker. Meade refers to the Liberia shipping registry for your information. When the ship’s crew tried to lock her in a cabin, violent clashes were said to have occurred, Meade said. However, the crew was able to report to the shipping register and did not lose control.
