( CNN ) A 110-day cat-and-mouse chase spanning from Antarctic waters to the coast of west Africa had an unlikely end when the crew of an alleged poaching vessel were rescued by conservationists pursuing them . Environmentalist group Sea Shepherd had been tailing the Thunder -- subject of an Interpol `` purple notice '' for suspected fraud and fisheries-related crimes -- since its ship the Bob Barker encountered it in the Southern Ocean several months ago . The pursuit ended early Monday in the Gulf of Guinea , off the coast of west Africa , when the Bob Barker received a distress call from the Thunder . `` We were literally a few hundred meters away ; they said the ship was sinking and they were abandoning the Thunder , '' said Sea Shepherd spokesman Adam Burling . `` We invited the crew -- 40 of them -- on board , had a medical officer check them over , provided them with food and water . '' Bob Barker Captain Peter Hammarstedt said the crew rescued from the ship had been handed over to the Sao Tome coastguard early Tuesday . He said he hoped the authorities would work with Interpol to prosecute those operating the vessel . `` We obviously want to see the captain of the Thunder prosecuted for his offenses , '' he told CNN by phone from the Bob Barker , at sea to the west of Sao Tome . Hammarstedt said he believed the Thunder was deliberately sunk to destroy physical evidence of illegal fishing . `` I 'm 100 % confident that the captain of the Thunder destroyed his own ship , '' he said . Hammarstedt said he had managed to send three crew members aboard the abandoned Thunder before it went down . `` Usually what happens when a vessel is sinking is the master will ensure all compartments and hatches are shut so as to maintain buoyancy , '' he said . `` On the Thunder , all the hatches had been opened , including the hatch leading to the fish hold . '' He said his crew had retrieved computers , mobile phones and other devices from the Thunder that would be handed over to assist any investigation . They had also retrieved a fish from the ship 's fish hold , which he said was about a quarter full . He said the fish was a toothfish , the prized stock his organization claims the Thunder was illegally catching when they were encountered in the Southern Ocean . More surprising was the reaction of the captain of the Thunder as his ship went under , he claimed . `` When the vessel went completely under the water , the captain of the Thunder , who was in a life raft at the time , started cheering and applauding , which was very unusual behavior for a skipper who had just lost his ship , '' he said . The pursuit of the Thunder began after the Bob Barker encountered the vessel off the coast of Antarctica , said Burling . He claimed the vessel was found with its nets in the water , illegally catching Patagonian toothfish . The Thunder dropped its nets and left the scene ; a second Sea Shepherd vessel that was brought in to retrieve the net found about $ 3 million of toothfish catch in about 72km of illegal gillnet , he claimed . `` That 's why they 're out there in these shadowlands , these unpatrolled remote regions , '' he said . Meanwhile the Bob Barker , supported by a second Sea Shepherd vessel , pursued the Thunder all the way to the Gulf of Guinea . During that time , Burling claimed , the Bob Barker narrowly avoided being rammed by the fishing vessel , while its smaller boats were struck with grappling hooks . The rescue had gone smoothly despite the months of tensions between the two vessels , said Burling . `` We worried what they might be like to our crew , whether they might be hostile or violent to us , '' he said . But the Indonesian crew who made up the majority of those on board the Thunder seemed `` very relieved '' to be rescued . The officers -- who he believed were Spanish -- were less so . `` Perhaps they would have preferred to have been rescued by someone else , but given the location there was really no other option , '' he said . An Interpol `` purple notice , '' released at the request of New Zealand in December 2013 , put out a global call for information on the Thunder , as well as information on `` the individuals and networks that own , operate and profit from the illegal actions of the vessel . '' It said the vessel had changed its name , national registration and other characteristics a number of times to avoid detection of its illegal fishing activities , and had sailed under the names `` Wuhan N 4 '' and `` Kuko , '' and under the flags of Nigeria and Mongolia . The Interpol notice said it had `` conflicting information '' about the identity of the vessel 's current operator , but said it had previously been registered as owned by companies in Spain , the Seychelles and Nigeria . Interpol confirmed Tuesday that the purple notice remained in place . It said it had monitored the situation and noted that all the vessel 's crew members were safely ashore . `` Interpol does not conduct investigations itself ; however , we remain available to support any national law enforcement authorities with jurisdiction in this case if such assistance is requested , '' it told CNN . It said no requests had been received as yet .
Sea Shepherd rescues the crew of an alleged poaching ship it had chased for 110 days . The conservationist group had pursued the vessel since it was found illegally fishing off Antarctica , it says . Sea Shepherd captain tells CNN he believes the ship was deliberately sunk to destroy evidence .