Sunken ‘pirate’ ship was Thai fishing boat

THE pirate “mother ship” sunk last week by the Indian navy was actually a Thai fishing trawler seized hours earlier by pirates, a maritime agency said yesterday.

The Indian navy defended its actions, saying it fired in self-defence.

One Thai crew member died when the Indian frigate, INS Tabar fired on the boat in the Gulf of Aden last week, according to Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.