Stowaways Threaten Cargo Ship’s Crew, But British Police Denies Piracy or Hostage Situation

Grande Tema. File Photo: MarineTraffic.com/Claus Gaser

LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) – British police said on Friday that they had received no reports that anyone has been harmed in an incident on an Italian cargo ship in the Thames Estuary and that they did not think it was piracy or terrorism related.

Police said they were dealing with a complex situation on board the vessel. A spokesman for Grimaldi Lines, which runs the Grande Tema cargo ship, said four stowaways had threatened the ship’s staff.

“We have received no reports that anyone has been harmed and don’t believe they are at risk. We are not currently treating this as either a hostage, piracy or terror related incident,” Essex Police said.

Police said they first attended the incident at 0900 GMT on Friday and were still trying to resolve the situation. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Alison Williams)

We are currently dealing with an incident on board a vessel that is in the #ThamesEstuary close to the borders of #Essex and #Kent. pic.twitter.com/5GYBquIfDr

— Essex Police (@EssexPoliceUK) December 21, 2018

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.

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