Stowaways surrounded oil tanker’s control room as captain tried to ‘keep them calm’
A mayday alert heard the captain of an oil tanker ask for ‘immediate assistance’ after seven stowaways surrounded the ship’s control room.
British special services were forced to raid the Nave Andromeda, which was anchored by Sandown Bay, the Isle of Wight, after an alert revealed the Nigerian stowaways on-board. The men were then arrested on suspicion of seizing or exercising control of a ship by use of threats or force.
A recording of the mayday call made by the tanker’s Greek captain described how he was trying to keep the stowaways ‘calm’ during the incident. They had been discovered early into the vessel’s voyage.
He said: ‘The stowaways go outside, I see four person port side, mid-ship, near to the manifold, and I have two of them starboard side on the bridge but cannot coming inside. I try to keep them calm but I need immediately, immediately agency assistance.’
In later radio messages, the captain also reportedly said he feared for his life amid the incident.
A source told The Times that the men had become ‘aggressive and pretty upset’ when they realised ‘they weren’t going to be allowed to get off and disappear into the British countryside’.
The 22 members of crew on the tanker had retreated into a secure room so that they could maintain control of the ship, it was reported.
A tense 10-hour stand-off then ensued, which ended with the Special Boat Service (SBS) dropping onto the tanker from helicopters and capturing the stowaways within nine minutes.
The SBS is the elite maritime counter-terrorism unit of the Royal Navy, with most of its personnel Royal Marine Commandos, whose operations are highly classified and not officially confirmed.
According to maritime tracking websites, the ship reached port in Southampton early on Monday morning.
Hampshire Police said the force was first alerted to concerns over the welfare of the Nave Andromeda’s crew soon after 10am on Sunday as the ship headed towards Southampton, having set sail from Lagos in Nigeria.
A spokesperson confirmed the stowaways are now in custody at police stations across Hampshire. They said: ‘All 22 crew members are safe and well and the vessel is now alongside in the port of Southampton.
Seven Al-Qaeda leaders killed in US drone strike
‘Investigators are speaking to the crew members to establish the exact circumstances of what happened.’
The ship’s operator, Navios Tanker Management, said the stowaways ‘illegally boarded’ the Liberian-flagged tanker in Lagos.
In a statement, it said: ‘The UK authorities had been advised by the master that stowaways had been found on board and that he was concerned for the safety of the crew due to the increasingly hostile behaviour of the stowaways.
‘Happily no crew members were injured and all are safe and well. Navios Tanker Management wish to thank all the UK authorities involved in this operation for their timely and professional response.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.