Posada tankera Nave Andromeda, koji plovi pod Liberijskom zastavom, je našla slepe putnike na brodu, koji su ih napali i primorali da se sakriju na brodu. Brod je plovio iz Nigerije.
Oil tanker crew 'discovered stowaways in cabin and called for help'
25 OCT 2020
The Nave Andromeda, which is Liberian registered, was due to dock in Southampton earlier today, according to reports. It's now surrounded by an exclusion zone
Commandos from the Special Boat Service are on "high alert" after stowaways became violent during a reported attempted hijacking onboard a ship near the Isle of Wight.
The crude oil tanker, named the Nave Andromeda, had been due to dock at Southampton Port at 10.30am on Sunday but was reportedly turned away.
Two coastguard helicopters scrambled to the scene and were spotted circling the ship and a five-mile exclusion zone was set up in the area south of Sandown.
The incident involved seven stowaways who are said to have become violent after being discovered in a cabin.
Crew members were forced to find shelter following the disturbance and it is believed the ship dropped anchor at its location after being ordered not to do so.
Armed police units are currently setting up base at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard, Isle of Wight Radio reported.
Special Boat Service commandos are said to have been placed at “high readiness” to storm the ship.
A source told the Mirror: “They will be looking where best to get on board the ship and looking at plans to get an idea of the ship’s layout.
“There will be a team deployed by fast attack craft but the sea state is very high, making a sea to deck entry difficult."
It is understood four Royal Navy helicopters from 847 Naval Air Squadron and a Chinook from 7 Squadron in Hampshire were also on standby.
The source added: “They may well have a warship on support.”
Lawyers for the ship's owners rebuffed earlier reports that the ship had been hijacked by the stowaways, reports BBC Solent.
A statement from Hampshire Police said: "We are aware and dealing with an ongoing incident on board a vessel which is situated south of the Isle of Wight."
The Liberian-registered vessel weighs more than 42,000 tonnes and had travelled from the city of Lagos in Nigera.
In a brief statement HM 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”.
A spokeswoman for Associated British Ports (ABP), which runs Southampton port, said they had not had any contact with the vessel and they had no further comment.
The tanker was last known to be docked in Lagos, Nigeria on October 5.
It was built in 2011 and is 228 metres long with a total capacity of 42,338 tonnes.
A spokeswoman for the Home Office said it is aware of the incident.
A UK Chamber of Shipping spokesperson said: "We are aware of an incident onboard the Nave Andromeda off the Isle of Wight and are in contact with the relevant authorities.
"We believe it is likely to be related to stowaways onboard but are awaiting more information."
Bob Seely, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, earlier said the incident would be treated as a "marine counter-terrorism" incident and a meeting of the government Cobra emergency committee would be held to discuss the response.
He said he expected specialist units to be scrambled to handle the situation.
Mick Cash, general secretary of the maritime union RMT, said: "We urge the UK Government to do all it can to prevent any harm coming to crew or anyone else on the Nave Andromeda.
The SBS, formed in 1940, is the Royal Navy's special forces unit and equivalent to the SAS.
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In December 2018 the SBS flew in to seize a ship hijacked by African stowaways who threatened the crew with iron bars and took them hostage as it entered UK waters.
In a night time mission codenamed Operation Renegade they flew out to the vessel, the Grane Tema, in total darkness and stormed the ship just off the Thames Estuary.
The SBS routinely train to seize ships using Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, and two of each were on standby last night.
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