UK Police Attend Ship 'Incident' after Hijack Reports

British Police on Sunday said they were dealing with an incident on a vessel off England's south coast following reports that hijackers had attempted to take over an oil tanker.

"We are aware and dealing with an ongoing incident on board a vessel which is situated south of the Isle of Wight," a spokesman for Hampshire police told AFP.

The incident is reported to have taken place on the Liberian-registered Nave Andromeda crude oil tanker, according to Isle of Wight Radio, the local station.

The boat left Nigeria last week and was due to dock in Southampton earlier Sunday.

British media, including Sky News, reported that stowaways had attempted to take over the vessel.