Twenty-three crew members of the UAE-owned ro-ro vessel, Dubai Moon, were rescued by the Royal Navy's HMS Chatham in mid-May just before the 1978-built ship sank during a fierce cyclone off the island of Socotra in the western Indian ocean.

The Panama-flagged Dubai Moon, operated by Majid Abdulla Shipping of Dubai, had a cargo of used automobiles and trucks on board at the time of the incident.

Fortunately, HMS Chatham was in the area conducting counter-piracy operations for NATO and was able to launch its Lynx helicopter, which winched all crewmen off the foundering Dubai Moon over a three hour period.

According to the ro-ro's master, Capt Hassan Madar, the ship had gone off its normal course to avoid pirates and could not find shelter from the storm.

Supplied by: Jim Shaw