A very strange russian ship wandering around

[stangrof]

Missing cargo ship 'seen' near Cape Verde

The Arctic Sea – carrying a load of timber and 15 Russian sailors – passed through the English Channel on July 28. The freighter sent radio messages as it sailed along the coasts of France and Portugal, European officials said Friday. Then all contact was lost.

The Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS and the German paper Financial Times Deutschland reported that the ship was spotted near the islands of Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony off the coast of West Africa. ITAR-Tass, reporting from London, cited unidentified officials at Nato; the newspaper cited two sources but did not identify them.
 
Related Articles

    *
      Missing cargo ship: crew reported second 'pirate' attack
    *
      Missing cargo ship: Pirate fear as Russia joins search

Russia's ambassador to Cape Verde said a Russian naval frigate was heading to the area. Alexander Karpushin said on Russian radio, however, he had no information on the Arctic Sea's location.

Nato spokesman Cmdr Chris Davies, at NATO'S maritime headquarters in England, said Nato was monitoring the situation but was not directly involved in the search.

"We do not have a specific position," he said. Nato began watching developments after the ship reported coming under attack in the Baltic Sea because it was an unusual situation, he said.

The crew had reported that the ship was boarded on June 24 in Swedish waters by up to a dozen masked men, who tied them up, questioned them about drug trafficking, beat them and carried out an extensive search before leaving 12 hours later in a high-speed inflatable boat.

The alleged attack, unusual in itself, raised further concerns because it was not reported until the freighter had passed through Britain's busy shipping lanes and was heading out into the wide Atlantic.

The European Commission suggested the Maltese-flagged ship may have come under attack a second time. "Radio calls were apparently received from the ship, which had supposedly been under attack twice, the first time off the Swedish coast and then off the Portuguese coast," said commission spokesman Martin Selmayr.

He said he could add no further comment so as not to hinder the ongoing law enforcement activities.

The Portuguese foreign ministry said, however, that the ship was never in Portuguese territorial waters.

The ship's Russian operator, Solchart Arkhangelsk, said it had no information about a possible second attack.

French maritime authorities said they received radio messages on July 29 as the ship sailed past the north coast of France. The Arctic Sea's report to British maritime authorities as it passed through the Dover Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, was the last known voice contact with the crew.

The ship had been due to make port Aug. 4 in Algeria with a €1.3 million haul of timber.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/capeverde/6029993/Missing-cargo-ship-seen-near-Cape-Verde.html

[Optimus]

Strange it would be there the same time Clinton is in Cape Verde.

Clinton ends Africa tour in Cape Verde
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gtCOx9kXQXbYsb9-6Njk2Zl1VrHAD9A2K1U01
By MATTHEW LEE (AP)

SANTA MARIA, Cape Verde — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is wrapping up an 11-day tour of Africa in Cape Verde, praising the island nation for democratic reforms and sound financial policy.

U.S. officials say Cape Verde could serve as a model for other African nations as it has held numerous free and fair elections and has taken measures to ensure accountability and transparency in government.

Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony off the coast of West Africa, is the last stop on Clinton's seven-nation trip that began in Kenya last week. She has also visited South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Liberia.

[Monkeypox]

Yeah, it's filled with "timber".

 

[Optimus]

Yeah, it's filled with "timber".

 

Maybe they want to burn the "witch" at the stake.

[stymo1]

An interesting twist as this saga continues...

'Secret cargo' fear over missing ship

http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/world/secret-cargo-fear-over-missing-ship-422394.html

Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 10:37 AM

A secret cargo and not just timber may be on board a missing ship whose last known radio contact was with British Coastguards, it was suggested today.

Russia’s navy fleet and two nuclear submarines have been scrambled as efforts intensified to locate the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea and its 15-strong Russian crew.

Experts and marine authorities continued to be baffled today that the 4,000-tonne vessel “disappeared” after its last official recorded positioning off northern France on July 30.

Mikhail Voitenko, editor of Russia’s Sovfracht maritime bulletin, said the ship, carrying sawn timber from Finland to Algeria, might have been targeted because it was also loaded with an unknown cargo.

He told the Russia Today news channel: “The only sensible answer is that the vessel was loaded secretly with something we don’t know anything about.

“We have to remember that before loading in Finland the vessel stayed for two weeks in a shipyard in Kaliningrad.

“I’m sure it cannot be drugs or illegal criminal cargo. I think it is something much more expensive and dangerous.

“It seems some third party didn’t want this transit to be fulfilled so they made this situation highly sophisticated and very complicated.”

The Arctic Sea made routine radio contact with Dover Coastguard as it was about to enter the Strait of Dover from the North Sea at 1.52pm on July 28.

Days later Interpol informed the British Coastguard that the ship had been hijacked days before in the Baltic Sea.

According to reports, it was boarded by up to 10 armed men purporting to be anti-drugs police on July 24.

Some 12 hours later, the intruders apparently left the ship on a high-speed inflatable boat and allowed the vessel to continue on its passage but with its communications equipment damaged.

By the time Interpol alerted Dover Coastguard about the apparent hijacking, the Arctic Sea had already passed through the English Channel, UK Coastguards said.

The ship failed to reach its destination at Bejaia in northern Algeria on August 4, as a supposed crew member on board the vessel told Dover Coastguard when radio contact was made.

It was last recorded on the AISLive ship tracking system off the coast of Brest, northern France, just before 1.30am on July 30, but its whereabouts now remains a mystery.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has ordered all Russian navy ships in the Atlantic to search for the missing vessel, the country’s Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Mark Clark, of the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), said Dover Coastguard was unsuspecting of anything untoward as a supposed crew member radioed before the ship journeyed through the Channel.

He said: “It’s bizarre. There is no coastguard I know who can remember anything like this happening. Who would think that a hijacked ship could pass through one of the most policed and concentrated waters in the world?”

The MCA said it was informed a Portuguese coastal patrol aircraft spotted the vessel later but its current whereabouts remain unknown.

Mark Dickinson, general secretary of seafarers’ union Nautilus International, raised concerns about the authorities’ “relaxed approach” which he claimed had “led to the shipping industry being the Achilles heel of global security”.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/world/secret-cargo-fear-over-missing-ship-422394.html#ixzz0OBCpfb2M


Edit: Considering this story is only here and in the Guardian, it could just be disinfo. I 'm not sure, just sharing.

[Optimus]

Russia’s navy fleet and two nuclear submarines have been scrambled as efforts intensified to locate the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea and its 15-strong Russian crew.

I don't think Russia would scramble a fleet and 2 nuclear subs just for a cargo of timber. There must be something else on board that is not being reported.

[Harconen]

Russian navy shadowing disappearing ship: reports



Russian media is reporting that a ship that went missing after passing through the English Channel last month may have been found.



The merchant ship The Arctic Sea was due to dock in Algeria on August 4 but it has disappeared, raising fears that the ship and its predominantly Russian crew may have been hijacked by pirates.

On July 28, Helsinki police received information that the Arctic Sea had been temporarily hijacked in Swedish waters. A group of people wearing masks and police uniforms had apparently boarded the ship and assaulted several Russian crew members, before leaving in a rubber boat 12 hours later.

The ship continued its journey to Algeria through the English Channel, where it made contact with the Dover coastguard. But that was the last contact it had with the outside world.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered his country's navy to become involved in the search for the ship and now the editor of Russian maritime bulletin Sovfrakht has told local media he has learnt from a Defence Ministry source that a frigate has been following a ship similar to the Arctic Sea in the Atlantic Ocean near Gibraltar.

But according to the ITAR TASS news agency, the Russian navy has denied the report, saying its ships are continuing to search for the Arctic Sea.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/14/2655523.htm

Russia's entire Atlantic fleet join international hunt for 'pirate' ship that vanished by Kent coast



The Russian Navy's entire Atlantic fleet is searching for a cargo ship which pirates are suspected of hijacking before passing though the English Channel, it emerged today.

At least five warships and several submarines have joined the international hunt for the vessel which vanished along the Kent coast with a crew of 13 Russians on board.

The 3,998-tonne ship, which was also carrying £1million worth of timber, has not been seen for two weeks and it may now be in Africa.

The continent, particularly along the coast of Somalia, has been at the centre of an upsurge in piracy.

Dover coastguard say their last contact with the crew was on July 28 as the Arctic Sea - which was loaded at the Finnish port of Pietarsaari - prepared to enter the Channel shipping lanes from the North Sea.

The person who spoke to the coastguard told them in what appeared to be a routine call that the ship was heading for Bejaia in Northern Algeria where they expected to dock on August 3.

Mark Clark, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency), said officials did not suspect anything untoward as a supposed crew member made radio contact before the ship made its passage along the Channel.

He said: 'There didn't seem anything suspicious when contact was made.

'It could well be that a crew member had a gun put to his head by a hijacker when contact was made but who knows?'

Later in the day - July 28 - the coastguard in Zeebrugge contacted Dover coastguard to say there was an Interpol warning that the vessel had probably been hijacked by pirates.

The Arctic Sea was last recorded on a ship tracking system off the coast of Brest, northern France, at 1.29am on July 30.

Mr Clark added: 'Who would think that a hijacked ship could pass through one of the most policed and concentrated waters in the world?

'It seems strange to think that a ship which had been hijacked was passing along the Channel along with ships carrying daytrippers going over to Calais for the day.'

Russian Navy commander, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, today said the rescue of the ship's crew was paramount.

'Under the orders of President Dmitry Medvedev all Russian navy ships in the Atlantic have been sent to join the search for the Arctic Sea,' he said.

'These ships include corvette Ladny and submarines.'

In a further twist, Swedish authorities said the crew had reported that the Arctic Sea was boarded by masked men claiming to be antidrugs police on July 24 in Swedish waters, near the island of Gotland.

The crew said they had been tied up in a 12-hour ordeal during which the men searched the ship before leaving empty-handed in a highspeed inflatable boat.

No further action was taken at that stage because the crew appeared to be safe and continuing their journey.

Spanish officials say the ship has not passed through the Straits of Gibraltar, which it would have to do to get to Bejaia in Algeria.

Kaimes Beasley, Channel Navigation Information Manager at Dover, said: 'This is an unheard of situation for us.

'I've worked here nine years and I can't recall a case of a ship being hijacked by pirates in EU waters, let alone the English Channel.'

The Arctic Sea, originally called Okhotsk when built in 1991, is owned by Latvian-based Aquachart SIA and operated by Russian firm Solchart Arkhangelsk.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/191218-Russia-s-entire-Atlantic-fleet-join-international-hunt-for-pirate-ship-that-vanished-by-Kent-coast

Russia Uses Satellites, Navy to Search for Missing Freighter

By Anastasia Ustinova



Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Russia is using “all means of detection,” including satellites and naval vessels, to find a Maltese-flagged freighter that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean after being attacked in Swedish waters.

The Russian coast guard ship Ladny is leading the search effort, which also involves navy ships located in the Atlantic, the Defense Ministry said on its Web site today. The missing ship, the Arctic Sea, has a crew of 15 Russian sailors.

The Arctic Sea was attacked in Swedish territorial waters on July 24. The crew was tied up and assaulted while masked pirates searched the cargo vessel. It was boarded between the Swedish islands of Oeland and Gotland in the Baltic Sea by the group who identified themselves as police officers, Swedish police said on July 31.

The freighter, operated by Helsinki-based Oy Solchart Management AB, was scheduled to deliver a cargo of timber to Bejaia, Algeria on Aug. 4, the Sovfracht maritime news service reported last week.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday ordered Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to take “all necessary steps” to find the ship and, if necessary, to free its crew, according to the Kremlin Web site.

The Arctic Sea may have been hijacked by pirates off the Swedish coast, RIA Novosti reported, citing Viktor Matveyev, Solchart’s managing director.

‘Anything’s Possible’

Matveyev said “in this situation anything’s possible,” even a hijacking off Sweden, the state-run Russian news service reported. Matveyev said “it’s still hard to believe that this could happen in Swedish territorial waters,” RIA reported.

Solchart has lost contact with the ship and has no information about its whereabouts, RIA said.

The Malta Maritime Authority’s security committee, which has been meeting on a daily basis since the first report of the Arctic Sea’s disappearance, has “no communication” with the ship.

“It would appear that the ship has not approached the Straits of Gibraltar, which indicates that the ship headed out into the Atlantic Ocean,” the authority said in an e-mailed statement today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anastasia Ustinova in St. Petersburg at austinova@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: August 13, 2009 05:06 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=acyT8uT0v9Tk#

[PTTurboe]

I don't think Russia would scramble a fleet and 2 nuclear subs just for a cargo of timber. There must be something else on board that is not being reported.

Exactly...

[california]

Listening to 3.5  hour 'A View from Space'  by Gary Bell....


8/8/09  show....

about Bill Clinton going to N. Korea....  N. Korea wanting to make a bomb....



Gary Bell is tracing the ENTIRE history of the

top secret nuclear bomb program.....



Gary Bell is on in Toronto on 640 a.m.   


More on the 8/8  show after I finish listening....


Gary is saying that the Illuminati is going to detonate another n.b__b.....

Not done listening to the 3.5 hours yet....

[Harconen]

The "Arctic See" have something like minisub on its backside.

Hmmm....did they use it to find something? Did they found something under North See?

[Spark of Truth Inc.]

The "Arctic See" have something like minisub on its backside.

Hmmm....did they use it to find something? Did they found something under North See?

Lol, noes that's a life raft for the crew.

Very strange that the Russian Navy is called in for the timber. There's got to be more to this. I think I state the obvious, when I say there could be an atomic bomb on this ship. I mean it came from Russia and transported 'timber' and got hijacked by 12 men in 'uniform in speedboats'. That's out of the script of a Tom Clancy novel. And it's bullshit, I guess.

Also, how long can it take to find a ship with sats? Imagine they would attack Hillary Clinton on her tour. This is nuts.

At least Russia got a precedent in dealing with pirates. How convenient, if they would use it to give the Russian Navy a new task hunting for pirates.

Bring me to the horizon!
- Jack Sparrow 

[Harconen]

                                        Missing cargo ship found near Cape Verde





Writer Lynn Berry,
Associated Press Writer
Aug. 14, 2009
MOSCOW

– A Russian-manned cargo ship that vanished last month in the Atlantic was found Friday near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa, according to French and Russian officials. There was no immediate information about the condition of the crew or whether there was anyone else on board.

The Arctic Sea — carrying a load of timber and 15 Russian sailors — disappeared after passing through the English Channel on July 28. The Maltese-flagged freighter sent radio messages as it sailed along the coasts of France and Portugal, but then all contact was lost.

"Cape Verde coast guards said they have located the boat" about 520 miles (840 kilometers) off Cape Verde, said French Defense Ministry spokesman Capt. Jerome Baroe. France was involved in search efforts together with several other countries.

Two military officials in Brussels separately confirmed the ship had been tracked and located off West Africa. The officials asked not to be named while the operation was ongoing.

Russian naval ships were ordered to pursue the ship after the Cape Verde coast guard reported the freighter was outside the country's territorial waters to the north, Russian Ambassador to Cape Verde Alexander Karpushin told The Associated Press.

The ambassador did not say when the naval ships were expected to arrive in the area. The four ships involved in the search, including a frigate, had entered the Atlantic late Tuesday. Their whereabouts Friday were unknown.

It also was unclear whether the freighter had laid anchor or was continuing to sail south. It had enough food and fuel to last through the end of the month, the ship's Russian operator said.

The ship's crew had reported a June 24 attack in Swedish waters by up to a dozen masked men, who they said tied them up, questioned them about drug trafficking, beat them and searched the freighter before leaving 12 hours later in a high-speed inflatable boat.

The alleged attack, unusual in itself, raised further concerns because it was not reported until the freighter had passed through Britain's busy shipping lanes and was heading out into the wide Atlantic. There have been fears that some of the attackers might still be aboard.

The Arctic Sea, which left from Finland on June 23, had been due to make port Aug. 4 in Algeria with its euro1.3 million ($1.8 million) haul of timber.

The European Commission suggested the ship may have come under attack a second time. "Radio calls were apparently received from the ship, which had supposedly been under attack twice, the first time off the Swedish coast and then off the Portuguese coast," said commission spokesman Martin Selmayr. He said he could add no further comment so as not to hinder the ongoing law enforcement activities.

The Portuguese Foreign Ministry said, however, that the ship was never in Portuguese territorial waters.

The ship's operator, Solchart Arkhangelsk, said it had no information about a possible second attack. Company officials said all attempts to communicate with the crew have failed.

The ship's captain is 50-year-old Sergei Zaretsky, a veteran of such sea voyages, said Solchart deputy director Ivan Boiko. All of the sailors are from Arkhangelsk, a port city in the far northwest of Russia.

French maritime authorities said they received radio messages on July 29 as the ship sailed past the north coast of France. The Arctic Sea's report to British maritime authorities as it passed through the Dover Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, was the last known voice contact with the crew.

Speculation on what might have happened to the ship has ranged from suspicions that it was carrying secret cargo — possibly narcotics — to theories about a commercial dispute. Security experts have been wary of attributing its disappearance to bandits, noting that piracy is almost unheard of in European waters.

"It would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with 'traditional' acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea," Selmayr said.

David Osler, a maritime journalist at Lloyd's List in London, said there are three main types of piracy. There is the sort seen in Somalia, where a gang takes the ship and the captain, and demands a ransom in return for release.

In the Far East, criminals would steal the entire ship, repaint it and trade it — creating what are called "phantom ships," Osler said in an interview.

And in less developed areas, piracy has sometimes been more like armed robbery, he said, noting that ships often carry cash around for necessities while traveling. "It's like holding up the local liquor store," he said. "It's just for cash."

Osler said the 18-year-old Arctic Sea was not particularly valuable. "The ship isn't really worth stealing," he said, noting most such ships have a life of 20-25 years.

___



Associated Press writers

Maria Danilova
in Paris,

Vladimir Isachenkov
in Moscow,

Slobodan Lekic
in Brussels and

Jennifer Quinn
in London

contributed to this report.

[Spark of Truth Inc.]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/15/russia.missing.ship/

Police say ransom demanded in Arctic Sea mystery

(CNN) -- A ransom has been demanded for a missing Russian cargo ship which vanished two weeks ago after being involved in a suspected hijacking off the coast of Sweden last month, Finnish police told CNN Saturday.
The last known contact with the Arctic Sea was July 31. Mystery surrounds its movements and the fate of its crew.

Authorities said the ransom demand might be from a second group of hijackers who targeted the ship after it was first allegedly hijacked for 12 hours off the coast of Sweden.

"There has been a demand for ransom and the subject is the shipping company, Solchart Management," Jan Olof Nyholm with the Finnish police told CNN.

An international criminal investigation is under way into the alleged hijacking of the vessel, the Arctic Sea. The last known communication with the vessel was July 31.

The probe, involving Interpol, is being handled by Swedish, Maltese and Finnish authorities in cooperation with authorities from another 20 countries, the Malta Maritime Authority said in a statement Saturday.

Finnish police would not say how much ransom had been demanded, or what else they know about the vessel.

"At this point I can't comment on whether we know the whereabouts of the ship. Our top priority is the threat to life and health, so I can't release any more details," Nyholm said. "The investigation has more details, but I can't say any more."

The Arctic Sea, which sails under a Maltese flag, was carrying a 6,500-ton cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria when it reported trouble on July 24.

Its 15-member crew told authorities that eight to 12 people armed with guns and pistols boarded the vessel about 3 a.m. that day, masked and wearing uniforms with the word "police" written on them, the Malta Maritime Authority said.

"During (the attackers') stay onboard, the members of the crew were allegedly assaulted, tied, gagged, and blindfolded and some of them were seriously injured," the maritime authority said in a written statement.

"All crew members were 'hard' questioned for a considerable amount of time. The questioning was related to drug trafficking. Later all crew members were released from their bindings but were locked within cabins until the alleged police rummaged the vessel thoroughly."

The attackers left after 12 hours on the same black rubber boat on which they had arrived, which bore the word "police," the maritime authority said.

The vessel's radar and satellite systems were off-line for two hours during the reported hijacking, during which it was witnessed performing "extreme maneuvers," said Maria Lonegard, a spokeswoman for the Swedish police.

The Finnish shipping company in charge of the ship reported the case to the Finnish police, who referred it to the Swedish police, the Maltese Maritime Authority said. In the meantime, the ship sailed through the English Channel.

Three days later, on July 31, Swedish police reached the ship by phone and spoke with someone they believed to be the captain, Lonegard said.

The crew provided photos of their injuries and written statements about the alleged hijacking, Swedish police said.

Despite that evidence, however, authorities have been unable to confirm the alleged hijacking. Swedish police say they have spoken to a number of witnesses who saw the ship making strange movements, but no one saw the black rubber boat approaching or leaving the Arctic Sea.

The ship has not been heard from since July 31. It did not arrive in North Africa as scheduled August 4.

Authorities have had no explanation for the ship's disappearance until Saturday, when Swedish police said they believe the Arctic Sea has been hijacked a second time. Track reports of the ship's journey »

"It appears that we are now dealing with two separate incidents -- the alleged hijacking off the Swedish coast and now the alleged hijacking with a demand for ransom," Lonegard told CNN on Saturday.

 
"The incident in the Swedish waters appeared over when we spoke to the crew and shipping company on the 31st of July. So it appears the ship has been hijacked twice."

Police don't know the location of those demanding the ransom, she said.

An international criminal investigation is under way into the alleged hijacking, led by the Swedish, Maltese and Finnish authorities in cooperation with authorities from another 20 countries, the Malta Maritime Authority said in a statement Saturday.

Interpol and Europol are also involved.

The ship was reported Friday to be in international waters north of Cape Verde, an island nation a few hundred miles from the coast of western Africa.

The news came from Portugal's state news agency, which quoted Cape Verde's defense director, Pedro Reis.

The U.S. military also had a report this week that the ship was seen a few hundred miles from Cape Verde, two military sources told CNN, but the United States had no independent verification of those reports. The U.S. military is not involved in the search.

Russia's ambassador to Cape Verde, however, denied that the Arctic Sea had been spotted near the island.

The Russian military has been searching for days for the Arctic Sea, with naval vessels authorized to use force, Russia said this week.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed Defense 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.

Experts say maritime crime is rare in heavily policed European waters and more common around areas, such as Somalia, where governments have little or no control over their ports.

"Attacks on ships are extremely rare; basically they don't happen," said Jeremy Harrison of the British Chamber of Shipping.
advertisement

A spokesman for the Swedish Coast Guard said the last known hijacking of a vessel in Swedish waters occurred in the 16th century.

"The only way a ship can disappear is if someone has actually turned off the ship's beacon," said Natasha Brown with the United Nations' International Maritime Organization. "But if this is done, you could only find the ship if you actively searched for it with a plane or helicopter."

[carlee]

Listening to 3.5  hour 'A View from Space'  by Gary Bell....


8/8/09  show....

about Bill Clinton going to N. Korea....  N. Korea wanting to make a bomb....



Gary Bell is tracing the ENTIRE history of the































top secret nuclear bomb program.....



Gary Bell is on in Toronto on 640 a.m.   


More on the 8/8  show after I finish listening....


Gary is saying that the Illuminati is going to detonate another n.b__b.....

Not done listening to the 3.5 hours yet....

     Very interesting .

[UK Lyn]

Crew of Arctic Sea under interrogation in hopes of yielding answers to mystery

From The Times

August 18, 2009


The crew of a cargo ship that disappeared in the Channel were being interrogated on board a Russian warship last night after the vessel was found off the West Coast of Africa.

The Russian Navy intercepted the Arctic Sea 300 miles off Cape Verde, a group of islands west of Senegal, three weeks after it vanished and sparked international intrigue.

The crew, also Russian, were being questioned after reports that they had been the victims of pirates, hijackers and mafia smugglers.

“The crew have been transferred to our anti-submarine ship, the Ladny, where they are being questioned to clarify all the circumstances of the disappearance,” Anatoli Serdyukov, the Defence Minister, told President Medvedev. “The crew are all alive and well.”

He said that the ship, owned by a Finnish company, had been found at about 1am Moscow time (10pm Sunday BST) and had not been under armed control. But the circumstances of how the 320ft (98m) vessel came to be 2,500 miles off course remained a mystery.

Mr Serdyukov said that they expected to soon be able to explain in more detail what happened to the crew, why contact with them was lost and why the ship changed its course.

The Russian envoy to Nato, Dmitri Rogozin, added to the sense of conspiracy by telling Itar-Tass, the news agency, that the media had been given deliberately misleading information “which did not allow them to calculate the true actions of the Russian forces”.

He said that there had been intensive exchanges of information with Nato forces, which had enabled the Russian Navy to seize the ship and “save the crew”.

The Portuguese Navy first reported what it thought was the Arctic Sea in international waters off Cape Verde on Friday night.

A navy source described the situation then as “very delicate and sensitive”, saying: “This is not a question of search and rescue, it is a political and police decision.”

The Maltese-registered ship left Finland with a cargo of timber worth $1.3 million (£800,000) around July 23, bound for Algeria. It made contact with British coastguards at Dover on July 28, but went missing after it passed Penzance on July 30. Its Finnish owner reported final contact with the crew on August 1, but the ship failed to dock as planned in Algeria three days later. A rescue mission was launched amid lurid stories of armed hijackers, alleged boardings, ransom notes and claims that the Russian mafia were forcing the crew to smuggle drugs or guns.

There were also suggestions that the crew had seized the ship in a dispute with its operators or that it was heading to an undisclosed location in West Africa to be rebranded and turned into a “phantom ship” so that it could steal cargoes.

The Arctic Sea’s disappearance prompted speculation that it had fallen victim to an act of piracy, an unprecedented crime in modern times for European waters. Investigators in Finland reported on Saturday that the ship’s owners had received a ransom demand for $1.5 million, although nobody could say whether it was genuine or an attempt by opportunists to make money.



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6798996.ece

[UK Lyn]

Arctic Sea: timeline of the mysterious disappearing ship

The missing cargo ship Arctic Sea and its crew have been found by a Russian warship off west Africa, but mystery still surrounds its disappearance as it was not under the control of armed hijackers or pirates.

Published: 7:00AM BST 18 Aug 2009

June 2009: The Arctic Sea undergoes repairs at the Pregol shipyard in Kaliningrad.

July 20: The vessel is anchored in Pietarsaari on the West Coast of Finland to pick up a timber.
 
July 23: The Arctic Sea leaves Pietarsaari for the port of Bejaia in Algeria.

July 24: The vessel is boarded in the early morning in waters off Sweden's Gotland Province and held for 12 hours by armed intruders.

July 28: The Arctic Sea makes a routine contact with Dover Coastguard as it enters the English Channel. On the same day managers of the Malta flagged and Russian owned ship Arctic Sea report the boarding to the Helsinki police authorities.

July 30: Last signal from the vessel's automatic identification system (AIS) placed the Arctic Sea between South West England and France.

July 31 to August 2: Radio calls alleging a "supposed" second attack off the Portuguese cost are received, according to European maritime officials.

August 3: Interpol hijacking alert issued.

August 4: Arctic Sea fails to arrive in Bejaia.

August 12: Russia's navy deployed in the Atlantic to find the vessel. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, orders the military to take "all necessary measures".

August 14 French defence officials and coastguard report sighting of the Artic Sea 500 miles off West Africa's island archipelago of Cape Verde.

August 15/16 Russia and Nato begin close cooperation to track the ship. Finnish authorities dismiss reports that the ship was carrying a nuclear cargo after dockside tests for radioactive materials.

August 17 Russian navy frigate, the Ladny, intercepts the Arctic Sea 300 miles from Cape Verde.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/6045863/Arctic-Sea-timeline-of-the-mysterious-disappearing-ship.html

[UK Lyn]

Anyone thinking this ship has been foiled trying to deliver our next false flag hardware?

[Unintelligable Name]

*awaits Sorcha Faal disinfo about an Alien teleporter being transported on the ship*

[JConner]

Scenario1:

Arctic Sea carries a WMD, destination: unknown.

The entire story is a cover for the ship's delivery of the WMD to unknown persons at an unknown location.

Scenario2:

The Arctic Sea mystery is a ruse to allow Russian Navy prepositioning for ? (North American invasion? Naval blockade of Europe?)

Scenario3:

The Arctic Sea mystery is genuine and was simply a victim of pirates. You can trust the lamestream media. All is well, go back to sleep.

[Spark of Truth Inc.]

Cool, I'm very tired. I'll pick #3

[Optimus]

Russia arrests 8 suspects in Arctic Sea hijacking
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gE17YYHbGwpvQYilaHecDtSI_W2QD9A5C2N80
By LYNN BERRY (AP)

MOSCOW — The Russian navy has arrested eight men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea freighter near Sweden and forcing the crew to sail to West Africa — the latest twist in a puzzling maritime mystery.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Tuesday the suspected hijackers were detained by a Russian naval vessel that reached the Russian-crewed freighter Monday about 300 miles (480 kilometers) off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean.

That is thousands of miles (kilometers) from the Algerian port where the ship was supposed to dock two weeks ago.

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 Russian crew members were safe and were taken aboard by the navy for questioning.

The motive for seizing the aging freighter and its cargo of timber remained unclear. 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 Arctic Sea left the Finnish port of Pietarsaari on July 21. On July 30, Swedish police said the ship's owner had reported that the crew claimed the vessel was boarded by masked men on July 24 near the Swedish island of Gotland. The attackers reportedly had tied up the crew, beat them, claimed they were looking for drugs, then sped off about 12 hours later in an inflatable craft.

Serdyukov said the hijackers boarded the freighter under the pretext that there was a problem with their inflatable craft. The hijackers, who were armed, then forced the crew to change course and turned off the Arctic Sea's navigation equipment, he was quoted as saying.

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 France's coast late the next day, but that was the last known trace of it until Monday.

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

The disappearance of the 98-meter (320-foot) freighter has perplexed experts and officials across Europe.

"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 Tuesday he had spoken overnight 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.

The 18-year-old freighter had a cargo of timber that Finnish wood supplier Rets Timber said was a euro1.3 million ($1.8 million) sale to three Algerian companies.

Port officials in Pietarsaari confirmed that the timber was on board before the Arctic Sea left and said that an inspection of the vessel detected no radiation on board.

Voitenko said he suspected the freighter was carrying an undeclared cargo and that state interests were involved. He refused to elaborate.

Prominent analyst Yulia Latynina also said she believed the ship had a secret cargo and noted that before setting sail the freighter was in the Russian port of Kaliningrad for repairs. Latynina, writing in the online Yezhednevny Zhurnal, said she suspected the involvement of special services.

She and others have reported widespread speculation that the Arctic Sea was smuggling nuclear materials.

British maritime security expert Nick Davis said he considered state involvement to be far-fetched and predicted it would turn out to be "a straightforward case of criminals trying to extort money out of an owner."

Finnish investigators said a ransom demand had been made, though it was unclear to whom.

Swedish police were still investigating and said they expected to be able to question the ship's crew. Police spokeswoman Ylva Voxby said the police had received pictures of the crew's injuries from the Arctic Sea's operator, which had received the pictures from the ship by e-mail.

Voxby also said Swedish police still haven't received any witness reports confirming that an inflatable boat approached the freighter in the Baltic Sea. However, police have confirmed through radar pictures and other vessels in the area that the Arctic Sea made strange movements at the time of the alleged hijacking.

Davis, of the Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre, said the full story may never be known, in part because the Russian government has been playing it down.

The government initially appeared reluctant to take action. President Dmitry Medvedev only sent the navy to search for the missing ship on Aug. 12 after relatives of the crew publicly appealed for government help.

The Arctic Sea, which flies under a Maltese flag, is operated by the Finnish company Solchart, which has Russian management and a sister company providing technical support in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk, the home of all 15 crew members.

[al0152]

I wonder if these "pirates" have any connection to the MI6 or Mossad, and directly or indirectly related to the Bank Of England, and their fellow scums?

[stymo1]

Mystery ship 'could have been carrying arms, nukes'

Posted Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:00am AEST
Updated Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:08am AEST

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/20/2661192.htm

The hijackers of a cargo ship that disappeared off the coast of France threatened to blow it up if their ransom demands were not met, Russian news agencies said.

Russia has 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.

Limited information from Russian officials 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.

"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 [Russian navy ship] Ladny ordered the dry cargo carrier's crew to stop the vessel," he said.

Climbing gear, flares and a high-speed inflatable boat supposedly used in the hijack were found aboard the Arctic Sea, the spokesman said.

The agencies did not say what ransom was demanded.

The Maltese-registered, Russian-crewed vessel and its $1.3 million 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.

The Malta Maritime Authority said on Tuesday, without elaborating, that the Arctic Sea had "never really disappeared", a comment which increased speculation that security services might have been involved in the affair.

Russia has said the eight detainees 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.

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 found the missing ship on Monday in the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Verde.

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

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

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 said.

- Reuters