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On Sunday there were long hours of tension aboard a tanker off the coast of Britain. The crew of the huge ship, which was carrying 42,000 tons of oil, was threatened by several illegal passengers who had slipped on board.
Nine hours after the alarm sounded, the crisis on board the ship was not over.
Police had been alerted this morning to the plight of the Andromeda tanker’s crew, which was about six miles from the Isle of Wight.
The tanker with a length of 228 meters It was sailing under the Liberian flag and had left Nigeria in early October to disembark in the British port of Southampton on Sunday. He called for help when the stowaways turned violent.
A three-mile safety zone was immediately established around the ship, and the police called in the army.
The special forces waited in the dark to act
The British Defense Minister said he suspected an attempted hijacking of the ship and, together with the Home Secretary, authorized a forced operation.
Finally, during the evening, special forces intervened. It was dark and the weather was bad. The military arrived aboard six helicopters. Divers were also brought in to check if the ship had been mined.
In nine minutes, the intervention was ready. Seven suspects have been arrested, the BBC reports.
What happened on board the ship?
The crew, who had barricaded themselves in the ship’s security room, are safe.
The tanker had left Laos and had not made a stop. The owner of the ship is a famous Greek company, Navios.
According to sources from this company, the crew knew of the existence of the seven illegal immigrants on board, but they became violent as the ship approached the Isle of Wight. It appears that the stowaways got upset when the crew tried to lock them in a cabin.
Faced with the threat, the crew barricaded themselves in the security cabin, a safe area on board the ship, which has telecommunications equipment. It is standard procedure in case of attack. From there, the crew contacted the Coast Guard, who alerted police.
However, according to the owner of the ship, it was not a piracy attempt.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
