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US destroyer takes onboard mariners from attacked tanker in Gulf of Oman

Twenty-one mariners from the M/V Kokuka Courageous, who abandoned ship, are currently aboard USS Bainbridge

WASHINGTON, June 13. /TASS/. Crewmembers of the Kokuka Courageous tanker that was attacked in the Gulf of Oman have been taken aboard the Bainbridge guided missile destroyer of the US Navy, US Central Command spokesman Army Lt. Col. Earl Brown said on Thursday.

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"Twenty-one mariners from the M/V Kokuka Courageous, who abandoned ship, are currently aboard USS Bainbridge," he said in a statement.

"US Naval Forces in the region received two separate distress calls at 6:12a.m. local time and a second one at 7:00 a.m.," he said. "US Naval Forces Central Command received the calls from the M/V Front Altair and M/V Kokuka Courageous, who were operating in international waters of the Gulf of Oman."

"USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) was operating in the vicinity and provided immediate assistance to the M/V Kokuka Courageous," he said, adding that a Navy P-8 is also providing support.

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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