New Delhi, Wednesday, November 26, 2008: The sinking by the Indian Navy of a Somali pirate “mother ship” in the international waters off the Gulf of Aden took a curious turn Tuesday with a Thai company claiming the vessel that went down was a trawler it owned.

The Indian Navy, however, stuck to its guns, saying that its stealth frigate INS Tabar patrolling the region sunk the vessel in retaliatory fire after it was first fired upon Nov 18.

The huge fireball that erupted from the vessel after INS Tabar hit it action clearly proved that a large amount of ammunition was on board, Indian Navy spokesman Commander Nirad Sinha maintained.