By Press Association 2021
Nave Andromeda incident
A senior CPS prosecutor has said there is no evidence that an attempt was made to hijack or endanger an oil tanker during an incident off the Isle of Wight.
The statement by Joanne Jakymec, chief prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Wessex, comes after the Home Office criticised a decision to drop the prosecution against seven Nigerian men detained aboard the Nave Andromeda by British special forces.
Two men, Matthew John Okorie, 25, and Sunday Sylvester, 22, had been charged with an offence relating to conduct endangering ships under Section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, but their charges have now been dropped.
BBC News
Published
image captionThe Liberia-flagged oil tanker Nave Andromeda docked at Southampton after the incident
Seven men, including two who had already been charged, will face no action over a suspected hijacking of an oil tanker off the Isle of Wight.
Special forces stormed the Nave Andromeda on 25 October after the crew raised concerns about stowaways.
Matthew Okorie, 25, and Sunday Sylvester, 22, had been charged with conduct endangering ships.
But prosecutors dropped their case after evidence analysis cast doubt on whether the tanker was put in danger.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said initial reports had indicated there was a real and imminent threat to the vessel, but added mobile phone footage and witness accounts could not show that the ship or crew were threatened and there was no evidence the men had any intention to seize control of the vessel.