SEVEN men have been arrested on suspicion of seizing or exercising control of a ship following a suspected 'hijacking' on an oil tanker off the Isle of Wight.

Hampshire Police have confirmed they are continuing to leas the investigation into the maritime security incident, which took place on board the Nave Andromeda off the coast of the Isle of Wight yesterday.

Officers have confirmed that seven men have been arrested on suspicion of seizing or exercising control of a ship by use of threats or force under Sec 9(1) and (3) of Aviation and Maritime and Security Act 1990.

They all remain in custody at police stations across Hampshire.

At around 10.04am yesterday concerns were raised to police regarding the welfare of the 22 crew members onboard the tanker, which was situated six miles off the coast of Bembridge.

The ship had been due to dock at Southampton Docks that morning, having sailed from Lagos in Nigeria.

All 22 crew members are safe and well and the vessel is now alongside in the port of Southampton. Investigators are speaking to the crew members to establish the exact circumstances of what happened

A spokesperson from Hampshire Police said: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the partner agencies including the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the military, the Home Office, and Border Force, which have been helping our investigation and assisted in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion."