The navy destroyer "responded after Combined Maritime Forces... was notified of a distress call from the stranded mariners", the CMF naval coalition said in a statement.

The ship rescued three of the sailors and "contacted a nearby merchant vessel to provide medical assistance" to the fourth, it said, adding that the rescue took place on Sunday.

The four Britons were transferred to Oman on Monday "for additional medical care and repatriation", the statement added.

The CMF published an photograph of the rescue showing personnel providing assistance next to the sailing vessel, which had been transiting the Gulf of Aden.

"This rescue is the true manifestation of professionalism and close coordination between international partners," Pakistan Navy Commodore Ahmed Hussain, commander of an counter-piracy task force that works under the CMF, said in the statement.

The CMF comprises 34 nations whose vessels patrol 3.2 million square miles (8.3 million sq kilometres) of international waters, including important shipping lanes.

It is headquartered in Bahrain.