Britain's equivalent of the Navy SEALs stormed an oil tanker, ending a suspected hijacking off the UK coast

The Nave Andromeda docked at Southampton, UK, on October 26, 2020, the morning after a special forces raid.

Henry Nicholls/Reuters

• The British version of the Navy Seals performed a daring rescue on Sunday after an oil tanker alerted police to a suspected hijacking. 
• The Special Boat Service (SBS) took control of the Nave Andromeda after dark in nine minutes, ending a 10-hour standoff, Sky News reported. 
• Crew found seven stowaways, believed to be asylum seekers from Nigeria, before alerting police, according to the BBC. 
• Believing that the crew had lost control of the ship, the UK Ministry of Defence authorized 16 SBS troops to descend on ropes from Royal Navy helicopters, the BBC reported.
• The stowaways were detained, and the ship docked at Southampton on Sunday.
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The elite Special Boat Service, Britain's equivalent of the US Navy SEALS, took control of an oil tanker after a suspected hijacking in the English Channel on Sunday.

The Special Boat Service (SBS) stormed the Liberian-registered Nave Andromeda after dark on Sunday and gained control in around nine minutes, the BBC reported.

The raid, conducted by troops who descended on ropes from Royal Navy helicopters, ended a 10-hour deadlock which began when crew sounded a distress call along England's south coast, near the Isle of Wight.

Seven stowaways, believed to be Nigerians seeking asylum in the UK, have been detained and are suspected of hijacking the vessel, according to the BBC. 

A map of the English Channel showing the approximate location of the rescue from the Nave Andromeda

Google Maps/Business Insider

The 16 SBS members took the vessel by fast-roping from four Royal Navy helicopters in what Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described as "dark skies and worsening weather."

All of the tanker's 22 crew members are safe, according to the Ministry of Defence.  

—Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) October 25, 2020

The crew members were first suspected to be in trouble at 10.04 a.m. local time, Sky News reported. 

Richard Meade, editor of shipping news journal Lloyd's List, told Sky that crew members found the stowaways and tried to lock them in a cabin.

The stowaways made "verbal threats," Sky reported local police as saying. Meade told Sky that the situation then became violent. 

The crew withdrew to the ship's strong room — known as the "citadel" — the BBC reported. This allowed them to stay safe while they called the Hampshire police force for help, who in turn asked for military assistance, according to the outlet.

A three-mile exclusion zone was put around the vessel as authorities responded.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who authorized the SBS involvement, praised the "quick and decisive" action of police and military.

—Priti Patel (@pritipatel) October 25, 2020

The Nave Andromeda later docked at the Port of Southampton. 

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