Oil tanker stranded off Isle of Wight coast amid stowaways report

The incident reportedly happened aboard the Liberian-registered Nave Andromeda, which was situated south of the Isle of Wight.

Sky News has reported that around half-a-dozen stowaways were discovered on the vessel and there are reports the crew are having to shelter at certain points on the ship.

Two coastguard helicopters were scrambled to the scene and were spotted circling the ship on Sunday afternoon, and an exclusion zone was set up in the area south of Sandown.

A coastguard spokeswoman said search and rescue helicopters from Lee on Solent and Lydd were in attendance.

A military police vessel was also seen speeding out of Portsmouth harbour towards the island, although the Ministry of Defence earlier said it was not involved in the operation.

It is understood that the 228-metre tanker had been expected to dock in Southampton at 10.30am on Sunday.

The Nave Andromeda sailed from Lagos, Nigeria, on October 5, according to maritime tracking websites.

A statement from Hampshire police said: ‘We are aware and dealing with an ongoing incident on board a vessel which is situated south of the Isle of Wight.’

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A spokeswoman for Associated British Ports (ABP), which runs Southampton port, said they had not had any contact with the vessel and they had no further comment.

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