The conservation group Sea Shepherd has released video its says shows its crew rescuing sailors from a sinking vessel they had been pursuing for four months on suspicion of illegal fishing. 

After receiving the distress call from Thunder on Sunday, Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and Sam Simon dispatched lifeboats for the 40 crew members who were able to disembark the vessel before it sank about 100 nautical miles off the coast of the Sao Tome.

The captain of the Thunder said a cargo ship had struck his vessel in the early hours of April 5, New Zealand media reported.

Sea Shepherd reported that in the hours leading up to the sinking, Erwin Vermeulen, the chief engineer on the Bob Barker had boarded the Thunder and confirmed that there were clear signs the ship had been scuttled.

The crew of the Thunder was received by the Sam Simon and has now been handed over to authorities in Sao Tome, Sea Shepherd said.

Sea Shepherd said in a statement that the Thunder was involved in 'Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU)' fishing of vulnerable toothfish in the Southern Ocean.

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