A major incident is underway off the south coast of the Isle of Wight with an oil tanker reported to be the subject of an attempted hijacking.
Isle of Wight Radio reports this afternoon the Coastguard helicopter has been circling the crude oil tanker called the Nave Andromeda.
The incident is believed to involve half a dozen stowaways and the vessel gave out a mayday alert at 9am, Mirror.co.uk reports.
Crew members are reportedly sheltering at certain points on board the tanker.
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."
The Liberian-registered vessel weighs more than 42,000 tonnes and there is an exclusion zone of five nautical miles around it.
It was due to dock in Southampton earlier today having left Nigeria last week but was refused entry, according to reports.
There are unconfirmed reports the vessel has been taken over by stowaways who had hidden on board.
The incident is likely to lead to the involvement of the Armed Forces, including the Royal Navy and the Special Boat Service (SBS).
In a brief statement HM 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”.
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.
The tanker was last known to be docked in Lagos, Nigeria on October 5.
It was built in 2011 and is 228 metres long with a total capacity of 42,338 tonnes.
It is believed to be owned by Navios Tankers Management Inc, a Greek company.
The Special Boat Service is located just a few miles away in Poole, Dorset.
