UK 'SBS' special forces storm tanker and detain stowaways in Channel
SOUTHAMPTON, England - British special forces stormed a Greek-operated oil tanker in the English channel on Sunday to wrestle control of the vessel from seven stowaways who had threatened the crew in a suspected hijacking.
Troops from the Special Boat Service, a navy special forces
unit whose headquarters in just a few miles away from where the vessel began
showing signs of distress, boarded the Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight
off southern England.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel
authorised the armed forces to board the ship “to safeguard life and secure a
ship that was subject to suspected hijacking”, the defence ministry said.
“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 defence ministry declined to confirm or deny the
involvement of the SBS - in line with British government policy of not
commenting on special forces operations.
But a source with knowledge of the matter said the SBS were
involved. SBS operations are usually classified. Former Royal Navy warfare
officer Chris Parry said the SBS had been involved.
The navy’s Special Boat Service, considered a sister unit to
the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), is one of Britain’s most secretive
special forces units.
An elite maritime counter-terrorism unit, the SBS traces its
history back to World War Two and has been involved in many of the conflicts of
the past 70 years including Afghanistan and Iraq.
The SBS’s closest equivalent in the United States is the
SEAL Team Six, or Task Force Blue.
It was not immediately clear where the stowaways were from
or what their intentions were.
Thousands of illegal economic migrants and would-be asylum
seekers have sought to cross the English Channel from France to reach British
shores this year, often paying people traffickers to help them traverse one of
the world’s busiest shipping lanes in overloaded rubber dinghies.
Police said the crew had been subject to threats from the
stowaways and that they were working 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.
Refinitiv vessel tracking data showed the Liberia-flagged
Nave Andromeda had been expected to arrive in the English port of Southampton
at 1030 GMT on Sunday. The vessel had left from Lagos, Nigeria, the data
showed.
The Nave Andromeda’s registered owner is Folegandros
Shipping Corp, and the vessel is managed by Greek shipping company Navios
Tankers Management Inc., according to Refinitiv.
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