Officials knew where 'missing' cargo ship was

updated 7:43 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2009

MOSCOW - For more than two weeks, the freighter Arctic Sea seemed to have vanished in the Atlantic Ocean's vastness, but officials said Tuesday they knew where it was all along and were just staying mum in order to bring a dangerous hijacking drama to a bloodless end.

A Russian naval vessel reached the Arctic Sea late Sunday in waters near Cape Verde, thousands of miles from the Algerian port it was to have docked at on Aug. 4. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Tuesday that eight suspected hijackers were in custody.

It was the first official confirmation that the ship had been attacked, after weeks of rumors and clues about why the vessel might have disappeared.

The Maritime Authority in Malta, where the Russian-crewed ship is registered, said in a statement late Tuesday that "The movements of the MV Arctic Sea were always known for several days, notwithstanding reports that the ship had 'disappeared.'"

Authorities in Finland, Malta and Sweden had agreed "not to disclose any sensitive information in order not to jeopardize the life and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship," the statement said.

The ship left the Finnish port of Pietarsaari with a load of timber on July 21. More than a week later, Swedish police said they were investigating a report that masked men had raided the ship and beat the crew near the Swedish island of Gotland before speeding off 12 hours later.

The suspected hijackers — citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Russia — were arrested without a shot being fired, state news agencies quoted Serdyukov as saying. The ship's 15 crew members were safe and were taken aboard by the navy for questioning.

There was still no information on why they allegedly seized the Arctic Sea, an 18-year-old ship with a cargo of timber worth only $1.8 million.

Secret cargo?
Security and maritime experts said the Arctic Sea's mysterious four-week journey pointed to something other than piracy, with some suggesting state involvement or a secret cargo, possibly of nuclear materials.

The armed hijackers had boarded the freighter under the pretext that there was a problem with their inflatable craft, Serdyukov reportedly said. They then forced the crew to change course and turned off the Arctic Sea's navigation equipment, he said, according to Russian news agencies.

By the time the report of the attack had emerged, the ship had already passed through the English Channel, where it made its last known radio contact on July 28. Signals from the ship's tracking device were picked up off the French coast late the next day, but that was the last confirmed trace of it until Monday.

The ship's signal going dead coincided with news of the reported attack.

Experts and officials across Europe said the saga of the missing 320-foot freighter was perplexing.

"The whole thing has been sniffy from start to finish," said David Osler, a maritime journalist at Lloyd's List in London.

Mikhail Voitenko, the editor of the online Maritime Bulletin-Sovfracht, said he had spoken with some of the Arctic Sea's sailors and was more puzzled than ever.

"The vessel had all the necessary modern means of communication and emergency alarms, and was located in waters where regular mobile telephones work," he said at a news conference. "To hijack the vessel so that no one makes a peep — not one alarm goes off — can you imagine how that could be? I can't."

Voitenko, whose company Sovfracht specializes in anti-piracy security consulting, said the hijacking was beyond the means of ordinary pirates.

"The operation cost more than the cargo and ship combined," he said.

MORE FROM EUROPE

Europe Section Front

Experts: Catholic church covered up abuse Coma recovery case attracts doubters   Anglo-Saxon gold trove valued at $5.5 million Newsweek: British panel offers accounting of Iraq war Polanski set to be released on bail French debate their identity Putin's rare Siberian tiger 'alive and well' Rocket man fails to fly from Morocco to Spain Europe Section Front   Add Europe headlines to your news reader: