Russia's 'rescue' of hijacked cargo ship Arctic Sea thrown into doubt

By Mail Foreign Service
Updated: 12:32 EDT, 19 August 2009

Doubts have been raised over Russia's 'rescue' of the hijacked cargo ship that disappeared off the coast of France three weeks ago.

Russia yesterday arrested eight people on suspicion of hijacking the Arctic Sea off the Swedish coast and sailing it to the Atlantic Ocean, ending weeks of silence about the fate of a ship which has intrigued European maritime authorities.

But the limited information from Russian authorities has failed to satisfy sceptics who voiced doubts about whether the piracy actually took place or was a convenient cover story to conceal a possible secret cargo of arms or nuclear material.

Russian ambassador Alexander Karpushin (right), sits with staff after visiting the Russian navy destroyer Ladnii that collected the crew from the Arctic Sea

The Russian destroyer Ladnii: So far no pictures have emerged of the Arctic Sea crew, hijackers or rescue mission

The Malta Maritime Authority yesterday said the Arctic Sea had 'never really disappeared', a comment which increased speculation that security services might have been involved in the affair.

So far no pictures have emerged of the alleged hijackers, crew, the rescue or indeed the ship and journalists have not been able to talk to the crew.

Now even the European Commission has said the mysterious 'hijacking' of the ship after it passed through the English Channel is the 'stuff of Hollywood movies'. 

'This was quite a unique case, the full details of which will certainly one day be made the story of a Hollywood movie,' said European Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr.

Shipping expert Mikhail Voitenko said the hijacking was beyond the means of criminal gangs.

He said: 'I believe states, state interests, were involved. 

Maritime expert, Mikhail Voitenko, said the hijacking was beyond the means of ordinary pirates

'The vessel had all normal means of communication and was in waters where mobile telephones still work.

'To hijack the vessel so that no one makes a peep - can you imagine how that would be? I can't.'

In an emotional statement on his website, he wrote: 'I can't say anything about the roots of this story and I don't plan to dig any further... I need to think about my own skin. Understand that as you will.'

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, attended a conference with heads of security agencies yesterday

The Maltese-registered, Russian-crewed vessel and its $1.3million cargo of timber disappeared from radar screens three weeks ago, prompting speculation ranging from an attack by an organised crime gang to a top-secret spy mission.

After heading through the English Channel in late July, radio contact was lost and the 4,000-tonne ship did not deliver its cargo to the Algerian port of Bejaia on August 4.

The Russian navy allegedly found the missing ship on Monday in the Atlantic Ocean near the Cape Verde islands.

There was no comment on the eight detainees, which Russia had said were citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Russia who on July 24 boarded the ship, forced the crew to change route and turned off its navigation equipment.

'The crew members have already confirmed that the captors demanded a ransom and threatened to blow up the vessel if their orders were not obeyed,' Interfax quoted a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman as saying.

'The crew members also claim that the people who seized the Arctic Sea were armed and got rid of their weapons when the ship (Russian navy ship) Ladnii ordered the dry cargo carrier's crew to stop the vessel,' he said.

Russian news agency RIA reported that climbing gear, flares and a high-speed inflatable boat supposedly used in the hijack were found aboard the Arctic Sea.

The agencies did not say what ransom was demanded.

Cape Verde authorities said they had granted the ship's crew a three-day visa to allow them to recuperate and they would be taken to the island of Sal before being flown to Russia.

The official version of events was questioned by Yulia Latynina, a leading Russian opposition journalist and commentator.

Questions: Even the European Commission has said the mysterious 'hijacking' of the ship is the 'stuff of Hollywood movies'

'The Arctic Sea was carrying something, not timber and not from Finland, that necessitated some major work on the ship,' she wrote in today's Moscow Times newspaper.

'During two weeks of repair works in the Russian port of Kaliningrad just before the voyage, the ship's bulkhead was dismantled so something very large could be loaded,' she wrote.

'To put it plainly: The Arctic Sea was carrying some sort of anti-aircraft or nuclear contraption intended for a nice, peaceful country like Syria, and they were caught with it,' she added.

Why the delay in raising the alarm?

The ship was said to first be attacked by a group of masked, armed men on July 24. Yet the company managing the ship, Solchart, was not informed until three days later.

In European waters, an absence of even 24 hours would be enough to raise the alarm, and even if radio equipment had been destroyed the crew had mobile phones which should have been working at the time.

The last radio contact with the ship was July 28, it was due to arrive in Algeria on August 4. Concerns had been raised about the ship in Finland and Sweden by July 3, and by August 3 its disappearance had been raised in Lloyd's List.

Yet it was not until nine days after that, August 12, that Medvedev ordered the Russian navy to pull out all the stops to find it.

What about the alleged hijackers?

Authorities claim the eight men arrested by the Russian navy yesterday were the same men as had originally hijacked the ship but original reports claim they had abandoned the Arctic Sea after 12 hours.

The men who boarded the ship on July 24 allegedly spoke English to the crew. The men arrested by the Russian navy this week were said to be Russian, Latvian and Estonian.

The crew of the Arctic Sea were all Russian but it is not known whether any of them could speak English.

The first demands for a ransom were said not to have been made until this weekend, two weeks after the ship's disappearance.

The ransom was said to be around £900,000. The ship's cargo of timber was estimated at £1.3million - this plus the key factor of the lives of 15 Russian crewmen could have demanded a much higher ransom.

Swedish authorities are believed to have spoken to the hijackers twice. Officials have so far refused to answer questions about what was said during those conversations.

An unnamed Russian businessman with knowledge of the shipping channels told the Financial times the crew may have conspired with the gang of hijackers to extricate money from the ship's owners.

What about the ship's cargo?

Rumours persist the ship was carrying some sort of secret cargo that could have been the real target of the hijackers.

An anonymous executive from Solchart, the Finnish shipping company that owns the Arctic Sea, told the Financial Times that such a secret cargo may have been hidden on board the ship when it anchored in Kalingrad for repairs before sailing for Finland where it was loaded with timber.