“On November 4, 2024, Rabat’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) received an alert, reporting that the crew of a Liberia-flagged Cargo ship, 110 km off Tan-Tan, had been threatened by would-be migrants who had planned to divert it to the Canary Islands,” the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces said in a press release.  

Two Royal Navy units, with a Commandos team on board, were immediately dispatched to the scene and succeeded in freeing the crew without incident, the same source added. 

The 54 would-be migrants were taken back to the Port of Tan-Tan and handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie for the usual administrative procedures.