A ship operated by Russian shipping group Sovcomflot rescued the crew of a tanker taking in water off Yemen's coast this week, the state-owned company, which is under Western sanctions, said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Sovcomflot tanker NS Africa was sailing southeast of the port of Nishtun in southern Yemen on June 23 when it responded to a distress call by the Lavant tanker whose crew had abandoned ship and were in a life raft in the open sea.
"At 1410 local time, the crew of the tanker NS Africa ... carried out an operation to rescue 19 sailors, among whom were citizens of India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Indonesia," SCF said in a statement.
SCF added that the rescued seafarers were scheduled to disembark in the Egyptian port of Suez on June 29 with none of the crew missing or injured.
Earlier this week the European Union imposed sanctions on Sovcomflot (SCF), following the designation of 14 of its tankers by Washington earlier this year that did not include the NS Africa.
Sanctions on shipping companies are undermining safety at sea and pose dangers for trade as ship standards are impacted, SCF's CEO said in comments released on Tuesday.