UK special forces board tanker and detain suspected stowaways: reports

By Henry Nicholls

 

Nave Andromeda is seen in Portishead, Britain in this undated picture obtained from social media. Huw Gibby/via REUTERS

 

SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - 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.

 

In December 2018, British forces stormed an Italian cargo ship and regained control after stowaways threatened crew as it sailed close to the southeast coast.

 

(Reporting by Henry Nicholls; Additional reporting by William James, Guy Faulconbridge and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Catherine Evans, Raissa Kasolowsky, Frances Kerry and Nick Macfie)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-10-26

 

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Hope those SBS Lads gave them a proper thrashing.

That’s another reunion to go too.

Great to see the lads doing what they do well.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The SBS's closest equivalent in the United States is the SEAL Team Six, or Task Force Blue.

...whereas in Thailand it's the jet ski operators

Bad move that by the hijackers, boarding the tanker a few miles away from the SBS HQ. Tough efficient beggars those special forces types, not like the border farce.

Just now, jesimps said:

Bad move that by the hijackers, boarding the tanker a few miles away from the SBS HQ. Tough efficient beggars those special forces types, not like the border farce.

No mate, the didnt board the tanker a few miles away, according to the BBC, the crew knew they were on board since leaving Lagos.

54 minutes ago, grumbleweed said:

...whereas in Thailand it's the jet ski operators

Yeah, I did see a youtube video where they made mincemeat of a bunch of Royal Marines.

If only the 7 stowaways had been regular Sun readers, then they would have known all about the SBS‘s fearsome reputation and so would have chosen a different place and time to attack the oil tanker crew:

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3927954/british-soldier-drowns-isis-puddle-sbs-troops-mosul-iraq/

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9454120/hero-brit-soldiers-isis-jihadis-afghanistan/

 

 

Wait for the 7 stowaways to be brought ashore, put up in a temporary accommodation, given £100 a week spending money, free board and lodging whilst they await their fate guided by free legal representation. Then disappear into the ether.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Troops from the Special Boat Service, (UK)

A post advocating violence, and reply to same, have been removed

When do the special forces guys return to Pattaya? 

If you are interested, ThaiVisa readers’ favourite newspaper ???? gives a blow-by-blow account:

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8881985/Storm-Andromeda-SBS-heroes-swooped-group-hijackers-oil-tanker.html

Didn’t realise the SAS or SBS had been in Pattaya.I don’t think they would have told anyone if they had.

17 hours ago, bermondburi said:

When do the special forces guys return to Pattaya? 

 

2 hours ago, andyg75 said:

Didn’t realise the SAS or SBS had been in Pattaya.I don’t think they would have told anyone if they had.

 

 

They will if you know the secret password - 'this one's on me'.

 

If I had to take a bet on anyone having been in the SAS or SBS, it'd be that quiet guy in the corner who doesn't say much. You know when they die, apparently. Like some Welsh guy told me a story about how a pretty ordinary guy in his village got a salute from a double rank at his funeral.

I reckon that the Captain knew about the stowaways , may even have been paid by them .

He wasnt able to sail them ashore , so they thought of a clever devious plan .

You pretend to be hijackers and the SBS will come out and rescue us and you and you will be taken to the UK where you can plead your case in Court , 

On 10/27/2020 at 4:34 PM, andyg75 said:

Didn’t realise the SAS or SBS had been in Pattaya.I don’t think they would have told anyone if they had.

 

It's an in joke. The laugh emojis might have alerted one to that.

Unbelievably these 7 oiks were bailed yesterday! How on earth can Piracy; Hi-jacking; Illegal entry; Covid breaching & whatever I have missed allow that? 

 

???????? is a joke! ????

5 hours ago, evadgib said:

Unbelievably these 7 oiks were bailed yesterday! How on earth can Piracy; Hi-jacking; Illegal entry; Covid breaching & whatever I have missed allow that? 

 

???????? is a joke! ????

I'm guessing the whole story was overblown, and they're just your run of the mill economic migrants who made some verbal threats.

On 10/29/2020 at 10:02 PM, CorpusChristie said:

I reckon that the Captain knew about the stowaways , may even have been paid by them .

He wasnt able to sail them ashore , so they thought of a clever devious plan .

You pretend to be hijackers and the SBS will come out and rescue us and you and you will be taken to the UK where you can plead your case in Court , 

Do you know the Captain?

What makes you 'reckon' that he is dishonest?

Can you please let us know?

On 10/30/2020 at 5:10 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

It's an in joke. The laugh emojis might have alerted one to that.

Yes I realise that ,I think he was referring to the Royal Marines as special service 

14 hours ago, ravip said:

Do you know the Captain?

What makes you 'reckon' that he is dishonest?

Can you please let us know?

Just seems a bit of a coincidence that the stowaways decided to hijack the ship just off the coast of the UK adjacent to the SBS HQ .

   The Captain musta have known of the stowaways presence on the ship and the stoaways would have put their lives at risk trying to swim from ship to shore and the Captain would have been guilty of trafficking had he assisted the stowaways in reaching the UK .

  Convenient  all round if they hijacked the ship 

Well done Royal- job jobbed. Meanwhile in Pattaya.........