Major incident declared after 'stowaways attempt to hijack' oil tanker headed to Southampton from Nigeria as it approached the Isle of Wight as 'crew hide in safe room'
A major incident has today been declared after a group of stowaways attempted to hijack an oil tanker as it headed into Southampton, according to reports.
Police are currently dealing with the 'security incident' on the Libyan-registered oil tanker near to the Isle of Wight.
A mayday call was made at around 9am today. Crew members are reportedly sheltering in a safe room on the ship, named the Nave Andromeda.
The crude oil tanker is currently to the south of Bembridge. Police have set up a five mile exclusion zone around the vessel.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is being kept up-to-date on the incident, according to Sky News.
Officers and coastguard crews were called after a group of stowaways were reportedly discovered on a Libyan-registered ship as it made its way to Southampton
The Nave Andromeda is a crude oil tanker which carries the Libyan flag. The tanker was seen taking a ziz-zag type path near to the Isle of Wight today
The vessel was due to be heading to Southampton this morning (pictured left). A more zoomed in version shows how the ship has made a number of zig-zag movements today
A coastguard helicopter been seen circling the Nave Andromeda near to the Isle of Wight today
Crew members are reportedly sheltering on the ship, named the Nave Andromeda - a crude oil tanker which is currently south of Bembridge, according to Isle of Wight Radio
A coastguard helicopter can be seen circling the tanker, as seen on Flight Tracker, while the 748-foot vessel has made a number of zig-zags in the area, according to Marine Traffic.
The ship has been carrying 42,000 tonnes of crude oil and left Nigeria on October 6.
A Hampshire police spokesman said: 'We are aware and dealing with an ongoing incident on board a vessel which is situated south of the Isle of Wight.
'We will provide you with further updates when we are in a position to do so.'
A spokeswoman for Associated British Ports , which runs Southampton port, said they had not had any contact with the vessel and they had no further comment.
A police officer observes Nave Andromeda, which is anchored off the east coast of the island following reports of the vessel being seized by hijackers earleir today
A restriction zone of five nautical miles is now in place around the vessel, while a coastguard helicopter is also circling the ship, according to Sky News
The Coastguard said: 'We are currently assisting Hampshire Constabulary with an incident on board a vessel situated off the Isle of Wight.
'The search and rescue helicopters from Lee on Solent and Lydd are in attendance.'
The Nave Andromeda was built in 2011 and weighs 42,338 tonnes. It was last known to be docked in Lagos, Nigeria, earlier this month.
It was scheduled to arrive at Southampton at 10.30am today.