The military action by the Special Boat Services (SBS) on Sunday night – to detain and hand over stowaways from the Nave Andromeda oil tanker off the coast of the Isle of Wight – drew attention from around the world.
The SBS operation took just nine minutes to complete in the dark skies off the coast of Ventnor. The multi-agency operation included four helicopters, a combination of Royal Navy and Police and Coastguard, as well as RNLI boats, perhaps in case detainees decided to jump overboard.
A look inside
Radio broadcaster, Ian Dore, from Youth Radio Rocks, has shared this short video he shot with Lenny Brown inside a Merlin Mark 4 helicopter.
Lenny explained that the aircraft can fly over 200mph and lift two men in full kit – he added that it can poise really well for operations – something those watching Sunday night’s incident can concur with.
