Speculation rife over missing ship in Atlantic

updated 2:50 p.m. ET Aug. 13, 2009

MOSCOW - The disappearance of a Russian-manned cargo ship in the Atlantic more than two weeks ago spawned a variety of theories and intriguing reports Thursday as the search drew in investigators from across Europe.

Russia had naval vessels and satellites scanning the ocean for the Arctic Sea — last heard from on July 28 while sailing through the English Channel with a $1.8 million cargo of timber.

Since then there has been no confirmed sighting of the Maltese-flagged freighter, which had reported being attacked four days earlier in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish island of Oland.

"There are lots of theories because no one really understands what's happening," said Pavel Felgenhauer, a security analyst. "Such wild theories circulate, because no one really understands who needs a ship with timber."

The crew had said that, on July 24, up to a dozen masked men had boarded, tied up the 15 crew members, questioned them about drug trafficking and beat them before leaving 12 hours later in a high-speed inflatable boat, the Malta Maritime Authority said.

The ship had been due to make port Aug. 4 in Algeria, but has not arrived and appeared to have changed course. The maritime authority said the Arctic Sea "has not approached the Straits of Gibraltar, which indicates that the ship headed out in the Atlantic Ocean."

Speculation on what might have happened has ranged from theories that it might have been carrying secret cargo to the possibility that it fell victim to an almost unheard of case of sea banditry in European waters.

Hijackers looking for cocaine?
The Swedish daily Metro said it spoke by telephone with someone who claimed to be the Arctic Sea captain on July 31 about the reported hijacking in the Baltic Sea.

"They were dressed in black uniforms," the newspaper quoted the captain as saying. "They resembled American elite soldiers and seemed very professional. They said they were looking for cocaine, which should have been loaded in Kaliningrad. They spoke English, with some kind of accent."

The ship was repaired in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave and drug-trafficking hub, before picking up the timber cargo in a Finnish port.

Security experts were wary of attributing the disappearance to bandits, noting that though piracy is rife in waters off lawless Somalia and in other areas of the world, European waters have been free of such attacks for centuries. Also, pirates usually seek ransom.

They also said terrorism appeared unlikely.

"There have been rumors it can be somehow connected to the smuggling of nuclear materials, but again why should it be intercepted like that?" Felgenhauer said.

More likely possibilities, he said, were insurance fraud or a commercial dispute.

"A ship can be re-registered, re-painted. It can be hijacked to change its identity, like a stolen car," he said.

The director of the ship's Finland-based operator, Sochart, refused to speculate on what had happened.

"It's a mystery, a tragedy for all family members and the crew, and we're just praying for all of them," Viktor Matveyev said, speaking Russian. He had answered a call to his cell phone from Moscow after refusing to take calls made from Finland.

Sochart's Helsinki office is located in an exclusive residential area on the seafront. No one answered the door. The view through the front window was of a disheveled, nearly empty office.

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