SOUTHAMPTON (UK) – A suspected hijacking attempt was foiled on Sunday when British special forces stormed a Greek oil tanker in the English Channel and wrested control from seven stowaways who had threatened the crew.
Personnel belonging to the Special Boat Service, a special forces unit coming under the Navy, boarded the Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England. The vessel gave out distress calls and it was picked up by the SBS which is headquartered a few miles away from the location of the vessel.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel gave the green signal to the special unit personnel to board the vessel “to safeguard life and secure a ship that was subject to suspected hijacking”, according to the defence ministry.
“Armed forces have gained control of the ship and seven individuals have been detained,” the ministry said. “Initial reports confirm the crew are safe and well.”
The ministry neither confirmed nor denied the involvement of the SBS which is in line with the official government policy of not commenting on special forces operations.
However, a source revealed that the SBS was involved and such operations are classified. According to former Royal Navy warfare officer Chris Parry, the SBS had been involved.
The SBS is one of the most secretive special forces unit and it is a sister unit to the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS).
Considered to be a top-notch marine counter-terrorism unit, it traces its origin to World War II and was involved in many conflicts outside Britain, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
Its equivalent force in the US is the SEAL Team Six, or Task Force Blue.
This year, thousands of illegal migrants and asylum seekers have sought to cross the English Channel from France and often they pay a hefty sum to human traffickers to help them cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in rubber dinghies.
According to police, the stowaways threatened the crew, adding that they are coordinating with coastguard and border forces to resolve the situation.
“They had made verbal threats towards the crew. No one has been reported injured,” a police spokesman said.
According to Refinitiv vessel tracking data, the Liberia-flagged Nave Andromeda was expected to arrive at the port of Southampton at 1030 GMT on Sunday. It began its voyage from Lagos in Nigeria.
The owner of Nave Andromeda’s is Folegandros Shipping Corp and the tanker is managed by Greek shipping company Navios Tankers Management Inc.