Four men have been charged with affray after an incident on a cargo ship in the Thames estuary.

Samuel Jolumi, 26, Ishola Sunday, 27, Toheeb Popoola, 26, and Joberto McGee, 20, all of no fixed address, were detained after police boarded the ship on Friday following reports of stowaways threatening crew members.

The men are due to appear at Chelmsford magistrates court on Monday.

Essex police received a call at about 9.15am on Friday relating to the safety of the crew on the Grande Tema, a 71,000-tonne ship that set off from Nigeria on 10 December.

It arrived at Tilbury port in Essex just after 4.20am on Saturday, according to MarineTraffic.com.

The ship’s operator, Grimaldi Lines, said there were no reports of injuries.