Lost and found
August 17, 2009
The fate of the bulk carrier Arctic Sea and its 15-man Russian crew has been cloaked in mystery since the ship went missing in European waters two weeks ago, sparking speculation of foul play or even a secret cargo targeted by pirates or spies.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday that the 4,000-ton ship had been found and that the crew were safe after being taken aboard a navy anti-submarine ship.
"Today at 1 am Moscow time, the ship was found 300 miles off the Cape Verde islands," Serdyukov told Medvedev during a presidential visit to the southern Russian city of Astrakhan.
However, he gave no details of how the vessel had been found or why it had disappeared in the first place.
"Debriefing is under way to clarify all aspects of the disappearance and loss of signal from this vessel," Serdyukov said. The Russian minister promised to reveal more details later.
Navy scoured the Atlantic
The Kremlin had ordered warships and submarines to scour the Atlantic for the Arctic Sea, whose last contact with its Finland-based operator was on August 1 off Portugal.
The Maltese-registered vessel, which was carrying a cargo of timber worth over one million euros ($1.4 million), was supposed to have docked on August 4 in the Algerian port of Bejaia but never arrived.
There were concerns for the crew after Maltese maritime officials said they had received reports that armed men wearing masks and posing as anti-drugs police had boarded the ship in Swedish waters on July 24.
They also said crew members had been assaulted, gagged and blindfolded, and some were seriously hurt.
In comments to the media, Serdyukov did not say if the crew members had been held against their will.
Piracy in European waters would be almost unprecedented in modern times, though a wave of hijackings has plagued shipping off Somalia.
rb/Reuters/AFP/AP
Editor: Susan Houlton