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Europe - missing ship
Russian warships search for missing ship
Article published on the 2009-08-13 Latest update 2009-08-13 15:33 TU
The Arctic Sea cargo vessel docked in Lovisa, Finland in April 2008
(Photo: Henrik Hilli)
Russian warships have been sent on a mission into the Atlantic to search for a 4,000 tonne cargo ship called the Arctic Sea which went missing after sailing through the English Channel. Five warships led by the guided missile frigate Ladny are hunting for the vessel which was carrying timber and was due to dock in Algeria earlier this month.
The fate of the ship has sparked an international mystery, as banditry at sea is almost unheard of in busy European waters. Piracy and a mafia feud are just some theories behind its disappearance.
The vessel, the Arctic Sea dropped off the radar shortly after passing through the English Channel on 28 July. It was supposed to make port in Algeria with its cargo of timber on 4 August.
The Russian guided missile frigate Ladny in 2007
(Photo: A.Brichevsky)
Before its disappearance, the ship’s crew reported they were attacked in Swedish territorial waters, on 24 July. The captain said unidentified men claiming to be police officers had raided the ship, and tied up the crew, but later released the ship and left.
Chief editor of the Sovfracht Maritime Bulletin, Mikhail Voitenko, said it was likely the ship was covertly carrying a dangerous, illicit cargo.
“The only plausible explanation is […] there was some other third party who was strongly against this cargo reaching its destination – so they found out about the vessel, about the shipment and about the route of the vessel and they hijacked the vessel,” he said.
Although the story of the missing ship conjures images of the pirate raids common in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia, Voitenko said the Arctic Sea’s hijacking was unique in Europe and unlikely to be repeated.
“It won’t, I think, happen again. The operation was highly sophisticated and very complicated business. Not many organisations could do such kinds of things […] It’s beyond their reach.”
 Missing ship probably hijacked, say vessel operators |
