Seven stowaways seized when British naval special forces stormed an oil tanker in the English Channel have been arrested on suspicion of hijacking, police said Monday. Hampshire Police said the men, believed to be from Nigeria, are being held at several police stations on suspicion of "seizing or exercising control of a ship by use of threats or force," the AP reports. They have not been charged. Police said the 22 crew members of the Nave Andromeda were "safe and well" after the raid, which unfolded after darkness fell on Sunday. Special Boat Service commandos were lowered by rope from helicopters onto the tanker, whose crew had locked themselves in a secure part of the ship known as the citadel. Within minutes, the stowaways were in custody.
Police said officers were speaking to crew members to determine exactly what had happened. The ship had left Lagos, Nigeria, on Oct. 6 and had been due to dock in Southampton on Sunday morning. Navios Tanker Management, which operates the Liberian-registered vessel, said the ship’s master became "concerned for the safety of the crew due to the increasingly hostile behavior of the stowaways." A 10-hour standoff ensued as the tanker circled an area a few miles southeast of the Isle of Wight. The coast guard scrambled helicopters to the scene, and authorities imposed a three-mile exclusion zone around the vessel. Suspecting a hijacking, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorized military action, the UK government said.
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