Fake attempt to smuggle migrants into the English Channel

Yesterday afternoon, it was reported that on the nearby Isle of Wight, the Greek tanker Nave Andromeda, the crew had discovered a number of unauthorised persons. When the crew tried to lock them in the cabin, unspecific acts of violence occurred, and the crew of the ship sent an emergency signal. The representatives of the shipowner assured that it was almost certainly not an attempt to hijack the tanker.

Special Services helped control the situation. The BBC station reported that the entire operation took nine minutes. As reported, during the entire incident no one was injured, and all seven people who illegally boarded were arrested. In the evening, the British Ministry of Defence called the incident a "suspect of kidnapping".

A tanker, which is owned by Greek shipowners but flies the Liberian flag, sailed in early October from Lagos, Nigeria and was scheduled to dock in the English port of Southampton on Sunday morning. The nationality of the persons arrested has not yet been stated.

Source: PAP