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Missing 'hijack' cargo ship Arctic Sea and crew found safe
Karen Attwood17.08.09
The missing cargo vessel feared hijacked by pirates has been found after a huge search in the Atlantic.
The Arctic Sea and its 15 Russian crew were discovered near the Cape Verde islands.
Officials said the crew had been taken on board a Russian vessel and were in good condition.
The Finnish-owned vessel appeared to vanish without trace after last being sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July.
The disappearance provoked massive speculation about the reason, ranging from pirates to a commercial quarrel.
Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov said: "The crew have been transferred to another ship. They are being interrogated now in order to find out what happened."
A ransom demand had been made for the freighter and its £1.3million cargo of timber, Finnish police revealed at the weekend.
It is believed the demand was for $1.5million (£910,000) - but it was not known whether it was genuine.
The crew had said they were attacked in Swedish waters four days before the ship disappeared.
The Kremlin ordered Russian warships to join the hunt for the 4,000-tonne, 98-metre bulk carrier after it went missing.
The Maltese-flagged vessel went off radar after passing through the English Channel.
It was supposed to have docked on 4 August in the Algerian port of Bejaia.
A sighting of the ship off the Cape Verde Islands was initially dismissed, which led one insurance expert to state that the disappearance left "far more questions than answers".
