Major incident after ‘hijack attempt’ on board oil tanker off Isle of Wight involving stowaways
A MAJOR incident is underway after an attempted hijacking of an oil tanker in the English Channel today.
The Coastguard helicopter has been circling the moored ship off the coast of the Isle of Wight this afternoon.
Police have confirmed an “ongoing incident” on board the boat bound for Southampton, Hampshire.
The Nave Andromeda was expected to dock in Southampton at 10.30am today but has now laid anchor.
A five nautical mile restriction zone has been placed around the ship, and a coastguard helicopter has circled it.
Cops are watching the ship from land.
A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: “‘We are aware and dealing with an ongoing incident on board a vessel which is situated south of the Isle of Wight.”
Members of the crew are reportedly hiding on the boat. The vessel gave a mayday alert at 9am this morning.
The boat is understood to have been taken over by a group of seven stowaways.
The Coastguard said: “We are currently assisting Hampshire Constabulary with an incident on board a vessel situated off the Isle of Wight.
“The search and rescue helicopters from Lee on Solent and Lydd are in attendance.”
The tanker was last known to be docked in Lagos, Nigeria on October 5.
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The Special Boat Service is located just a few miles away in Poole, Dorset.
The Nave Andromeda is sailing under the flag of Liberia, and was built in 2011.
The ship is 228m long and weighs 42,338 tonnes.