Russia Orders Nuclear Subs To Find Pirated Ship, Mystery Cargo
August 16, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
UPDATE:
Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the Arctic Sea vessel was located 300 miles off Cape Verde island in West Africa with its crew safe and well.
Serdyukov said the Finnish-owned ship’s 15-man Russian crew was taken aboard a Russian naval vessel.
“The crew is alive, all are alive and healthy,” the Russian added, confirming that those on board were not being held captive.
It was unclear what might have happened to the ship, which was last heard from on July 28 in the Bay of Biscay.
—-Original Post —–
Seems like a lot of attention is being paid to this ship by more than just the Russians. The Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, has instructed his nation’s military to do whatever it takes to trace and, if necessary, recapture a cargo ship that has mysteriously disappeared amid fears pirates have hijacked it. Russian warships and nuclear submarines have been scrambled in a search for the Arctic Sea as suspicions mount that it could be carrying arms or drugs.
Mr Medvedev ordered the Defence Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, to ”take all necessary measures to locate, monitor and, if necessary, to free the missing vessel”, a statement issued by the President’s office said.
”All Russian navy ships in the Atlantic have been sent to join the search for the Arctic Sea,” said Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, the navy commander.
The 3988-tonne ship, crewed by Russians and sailing under the Maltese flag, is officially carrying a cargo of Finnish timber.
It left Finland on July 23 bound for the Algerian port of Bejaia. Swedish police say the ship was hijacked in the Baltic Sea on July 24, when masked men claiming to be anti-drug police boarded the ship, tied up the crew and searched the vessel. But the men reportedly left after about 12 hours.
Since the Arctic Sea’s disappearance, however, maritime experts are questioning whether the hijackers remained in control of the ship as it passed through the English Channel and headed out to sea.
$1 Million Ransom Demand For Russian Ship
The ransom demand came as The Mail on Sunday established radiation tests were carried out at the port of Pietarsaari in western Finland, where the Maltese-flagged ship Arctic Sea started its voyage.
The Turkish-built vessel, which was carrying £900,000 worth of timber, is feared to have been stormed by pirates looking for a ‘secret cargo’.
The fact that nuclear tests were conducted will fuel speculation that the ship did have a hidden cargo.
Enquiries by this newspaper have established that no checks were carried out on what was being transported in the hold prior to its departure from Finland on July 23.
And the FSB, the Russian security service, as well as MI5 have been involved in the investigation into the hijacked vessel.
