Under the cover of darkness, members of the British Special Forces storm a hijacked ship off the coast of the British Isles.

16 commandos from the Special Boat Service (SBS) received a mayday call from the UK-bound Nave Andromeda tanker as she was overrun by hijackers. The elite unit of SBS soldiers, who train for exactly this type of situation, were deployed within minutes of receiving the distress call.

The tanker had been on route to the UK after leaving the Nigerian capital of Lagos on October 6^th where the seven hijackers are believed to have boarded and stayed hidden during the voyage, until they were ready to break cover and take the ship.

Covered by snipers and supported by special forces divers, the 16 commandos rappelled by rope out of Royal Navy helicopters and were able to seize the ship and secure all the crew on board using “overwhelming force” in what has been described as a “textbook flash and bang” operation.

The Ministry of Defence stated:

“In response to a police request, the Defence Secretary and Home Secretary authorised Armed Forces personnel to board a ship in the English Channel to safeguard life and secure a ship that was subject to suspect hijacking.”

“Armed forces have gained control of the ship and seven individuals have been detained. Police investigations will now continue. Initial reports confirm the crew are safe and well.”

The Special Boat Service are the special forces arm of the Royal Navy and can trace their origins back to the 1940’s during the Second World War. Mainly recruited from the Royal Marines’ best, the SBS are expert amphibious and maritime soldiers and are the sister unit of the Special Air Service (SAS).

The hijacking of the Nave Andromeda tanker off the coast of the UK, is exactly the type of operation the SBS train for and ironically, the waters in which the UK-bound vessel was hijacked, are the waters SBS regularly conduct their fast-paced and rigorous training.

A maritime risk expert commented on the incident, saying:

“This sort of thing is what the SBS are trained to do. Ever since we had oil rigs in the North Sea this sort of operation has been the bread and butter to the SBS and specialist Commandos.”

“We want to send out a message – Don’t mess with us. Don’t try and come into our maritime zone and expect to stowaway, or indeed come in for any other reason, you will be met with appropriate force if necessary.”

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