Indian navy sank Thai trawler, not pirate ship

THE PIRATE "mother ship" sunk last week by the Indian navy was a Thai fishing trawler that had been seized hours earlier by pirates, it emerged today.

One Thai crew member died and a Cambodian crew member was rescued four days later, but 14 other sailors remain missing after the attack on the boat in the Gulf of Aden.

The International Maritime Bureau received a report on the apparent mistake from Bangkok-based Sirichai Fisheries, which owned the trawler.

The Indian frigate INS Tabar, defending its actions, said that it had fired in self-defence. A spokesman said: "As far as we are concerned, its description and its intent were that of a pirate ship. Only after we were fired upon did we fire."

"We hope this incident won't affect the anti-piracy operation," said a spokesman at the maritime bureau, which had alerted coalition forces in the area after it was contacted by Sirichai.

It was unclear whether the Indian navy had received this alert, which included photos, as it has no direct communication links to the bureau.