The film begins with a convoy of military vehicles rolling into a seaport located somewhere in Middle East in the bank of Indian or Pacific Ocean and stopping near the pier where the Soviet cargo ship Nezhin is anchored.

An agent of a local pharmaceutical company meets the captain of the Soviet vessel and discusses the cargo, medical opium, which is in critical demand by the hospitals of the USSR.

[4][5] Some distance into the voyage, a watchman cries "man overboard" and the captain orders the engines stopped to rescue the stranded swimmer.

Salekh told the crew that his ship suddenly capsized during a heavy storm and his crewmates were fighting for places in rescue boats.

Their attempt to escape is foiled when the Mercury rams the ship and the pirates open fire with assault rifles and machine guns.