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Police have charged two men in connection with the alleged hijacking of a tanker off the coast of the Isle of Wight in October.
Matthew John Okorie, 25, and Sunday Sylvester, 22, appeared in court on Saturday charged with a crime related to conduct that endangers boats, Hampshire police said.
The charges arise as part of the ongoing investigation into the October 25 incident, when stowaways boarded the Nave Andromeda ship in an alleged hijacking, but were stopped by a sniper-backed British Special Boat Service (SBS) raid on the air.
Seven Nigerian men were detained by the SBS and remain on police bail while investigations continue.
The raid was authorized by Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Interior Secretary Priti Patel after a tense 10-hour standoff.
The 748-foot (228 m) Ship Andromeda was heading towards Southampton, having set sail from Lagos in Nigeria. The ship’s operator, Navios Tankers Management, said stowaways illegally boarded the Liberian-flagged tanker in Lagos.
Okorie and Sylvester will remain in custody until they appear at Southampton Crown Court on January 29.
The other five men detained on suspicion of seizing or exercising control of a boat through threats or force remain on police bail until 25 January.
