View Full Version : Missing Cargo Ship Found?
Not quite ready to buy this one as being over yet. No warm-fuzzies re: the Cape Verde Defense Director, either. Would want to see actual intercept and boarding to ensure crew is still alive. It's a long ways from Cape Verde (where the ship is supposed to be now) and Algeria (the intended port of call). What would make a ship loaded with Finish timber to divert from Algeria to Cape Verde? Something smells like old lutefisk.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/14/russia.missing.ship/index.html
More of the same old mystery. Perhaps if some navy (one with resolve) grabs a gaggle of these so-called "pirates" and shoots them off the fantail. After a fair trial of course.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/15/russia.missing.ship/index.html
Yes there might be more to the story...
Finland asks Putin to explain nabbed ship incident
By Dan Tamir and Yossi Melman Thu., September 03, 2009
The Russian cargo ship that disappeared on its way from Finland to Algeria came up in talks between Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who met yesterday in the Polish city of Gdansk to discuss energy and the environment, according to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
Finland had officially requested information from Russia on the affair, in which the "Arctic Sea" disappeared for a month on its way to deliver timber to Algeria, the paper said.
"We discussed what possible motives there may have been for the hijacking," Vanhanen was quoted as saying.
The "Arctic Sea" set sail from Finland on July 22, flying a Maltese flag, and was manned by a Russian crew, carrying $2 million of timber that belonged to a Finnish company. On July 24, eight interlopers from Russia and neighboring countries boarded the ship; the ship's tracking device was disconnected. On August 12, the Russian Navy began to look for the ship and said it had found the vessel a week later.
But why bother with a ship with such a small cargo? Why was no distress signal sent out? Why did it take the Russian Navy more than two weeks to begin a search? Is there a connection between the apparent piracy and President Shimon Peres' sudden visit to Russia the day after the ship was found? - more... - haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1112038.html
New Twist In The Case Of Russian 'Mystery' Ship
by Corey Flintoff
(captioned pics)
Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the online Maritime Bulletin-Sovfracht, speaks to the media Aug. 18 in Moscow about the mystery surrounding the Arctic Sea freighter. Voitenko, whose company, Sovfracht, specializes in anti-piracy security consulting, said the hijacking was beyond the means of ordinary pirates.
-A Russian commando escorts one of the men accused of hijacking the cargo ship Arctic Sea. Critics allege that the ship may have been smuggling missiles and that Russian officials may have been involved.
September 3, 2009
Pirates? Smuggled missiles? Israeli commandos? The Bermuda Triangle? The mystery of what happened to the Russian cargo ship Arctic Sea deepened this week. The ship made headlines last month when it went missing on the high seas near Europe.
On Thursday, a Russian maritime journalist said he was forced to flee Moscow for Istanbul. Mikhail Voitenko said he had been threatened for suggesting that the ship might have been involved in illegal arms smuggling.
The Moscow Times newspaper reported Thursday that Voitenko left for Turkey, saying "some serious guys hinted" that he should leave Russia for three or four months. Voitenko, the editor of a shipping news Web site, suggested the men may have been members of Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB. - more... - npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112515010
EU official: Israel hijacked Russian ship
September 2, 2009
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel intercepted a Russian-manned cargo ship allegedly carrying secret weapons that had disappeared, a European Union official said.
Adm. Tarmo Kouts, the European Union's rapporteur on piracy and a former commander of the Estonian armed forces, told Time in an article posted Monday on the magazine's Web site that although Russia claimed the ship was carrying lumber, only a shipment of missiles could explain its actions since the alleged hijacking on July 24.
"There is the idea that there were missiles aboard, and one can't explain this situation in any other way," Kouts told Time. "As a sailor with years of experience, I can tell you that the official versions are not realistic."
Russia said the ship, the Arctic Sea, was destined for Algeria with less than $2 million of timber, was hijacked and its tracking device disabled in late July. In mid-August the Russian government sent out a search party, which recovered the ship and its crew without firing a shot, according to Time.
Russia denied the ship was running weapons to the Middle East.
According to Time, Israeli President Shimon Peres met with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, the day after the ship was recovered and the leaders discussed "the sale of Russian weapons and military hardware to countries hostile to Israel," though the Arctic Sea was not specifically mentioned.
In addition, Time wrote, Russia sent a disproportionate force that included destroyers and submarines to look for the ship, and returned the small crew and alleged pirates back in two enormous military cargo planes.
Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitri Rogozin, said Kouts should stop "running his mouth," Time reported. - jta.org/news/article/2009/09/02/1007591/eu-official-israel-hijacked-russian-ship
And more speculation...
Russian and Ukrainian media spreading rumors over their analysis of disappearance and subsequent finding of cargo ship, which was allegedly carrying sawdust, despite reports that it was transporting missiles to Iran
Yael Branovsky
Published: 08.23.09, 12:45 / Israel News
Russian media are still trying to crack the mystery behind the disappearance of a Russian cargo ship, Arctic Sea, that was recently released by pirates, and the bizarre cargo it was supposedly carrying. - ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3765715,00.html
incarcerated
09-06-2009, 22:03
The story is solidifying.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/6145336/Arctic-Sea-ghost-ship-was-carrying-weapons-to-Iran.html
Arctic Sea ghost ship 'was carrying weapons to Iran'
The Arctic Sea cargo ship that disappeared for almost a month earlier this summer, was carrying weapons to Iran and was being tracked by Mossad, the Israeli security service, according to reports.
By Chris Irvine
Published: 8:05AM BST 06 Sep 2009
Mystery has surrounded the ship, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth £1.3 million from Finland to Algeria, since its crew first reported a boarding in Swedish waters on July 24 after a raid by 10 armed English-speaking men posing as anti-narcotics police officers.
It was eventually recovered off the coast of west Africa on August 17. Russia has since charged eight men from Estonia, Latvia and Russia with kidnapping and piracy.
Russian officials have said the alleged pirates demanded a $1.5 million ransom but speculation has grown that the freighter was carrying contraband cargo.
Israeli and Russian security sources have questioned The Kremlin's official explanation, instead arguing that the ship was carrying S-300 missiles, Russia's most advanced anti-aircraft weapon, while undergoing repairs in the Russian port of Kaliningrad, a notorious Baltic smuggling base.
According to reports, Mossad is said to have briefed the Russian government that the shipment had been sold by former military officers linked to the black market, and Russia then dispatched a naval rescue mission. Those who believe Mossad was involved point to a visit to Moscow by Shimon Peres, Israel's president, the day after the Arctic Sea was recovered.
Crew members of the Arctic Sea have since told Russian news reporters that they have been told not to disclose "state secrets" further fuelling the speculation.
A Russian military source told The Sunday Times: “The official version is ridiculous and was given to allow the Kremlin to save face.
“I’ve spoken to people close to the investigation and they’ve pretty much confirmed Mossad’s involvement. It’s laughable to believe all this fuss was over a load of timber. I’m not alone in believing that it was carrying weapons to Iran.”
Another theory is that Mossad concocted the alleged hijacking by setting up a criminal gang, who were unlikely to have known anything about a secret cargo, instead blocking the route to Iran by the mounting media interest.
“Once the news of the hijack broke, the game was up for the arms dealers. The Russians had to act," said a former Russian army officer. "That’s why I don’t rule out Mossad being behind the hijacking. It stopped the shipment and gave the Kremlin a way out so that it can now claim it mounted a brilliant rescue mission.”
As well as Russia facing potential embarrassment, had the missiles reached Iran, it would have significantly strengthened the Islamic republic's air defences. Israeli defence sources told the newspaper that in the event of an attack on Iran's nuclear installations, S-300 missiles would increase Israeli casualties by 50 per cent.
Earlier this week Mikhail Voitenjo, editor of Russia's online Maritime Bulletin, told The Sunday Telegraph he feared for his life after a warning call from a "cold official voice" thought to be an intelligence agent after he speculated the Arctic Sea was smuggling weapons.
Mr Voitenjo, who has since fled the country, said: "Very important government people got involved in this business.
"I ran away because I was afraid."
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From The Jerusalem Post:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251804497690&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
'Times': Mossad staged Russian ship hijacking
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Sep 6, 2009 5:36 | Updated Sep 6, 2009 16:32
A Russian cargo ship that disappeared in the Channel was carrying arms to Iran and was being tracked by Mossad, The Sunday Times reported, quoting unnamed sources in both Russia and Israel.
....A Russian military official is quoted as saying, "The official version is ridiculous and was given to allow the Kremlin to save face, I've spoken to people close to the investigation and they've pretty much confirmed [the] Mossad's involvement. It's laughable to believe all this fuss was over a load of timber. I'm not alone in believing that it was carrying weapons to Iran."
Sources in Moscow further suggested that the Mossad may have used proxies to hijack the ship by establishing a criminal gang which, most likely, was not aware of the true reason for its mission. "The best way for the Israelis to block the cargo from reaching Iran would have been to create a lot of noise around the ship," a former army officer told the paper.
"Once the news of the hijack broke, the game was up for the arms dealers. The Russians had to act. That's why I don't rule out [the] Mossad being behind the hijacking. It stopped the shipment and gave the Kremlin a way out so that it can now claim it mounted a brilliant rescue mission."
IDF sources told the paper that a decision to inform Russia of the weapons shipment followed intelligence that the ship was being loaded with the system in Kaliningrad, a port notorious for gun runners....
incarcerated
09-08-2009, 17:55
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5873QW20090908
Russia lambastes reports ship had missiles for Iran
Tue Sep 8, 2009 10:17am EDT
By Amie Ferris-Rotman
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow on Tuesday denied reports a cargo ship that went missing in the Atlantic for almost a month had been carrying a Russian air-defense system to Iran that was detected by Israel.
Russia's foreign minister said the circumstances of the ship's disappearance would become clear in due course....
"All will become transparent, and I hope that everyone will be convinced that the rumors you refer to are absolutely groundless," Lavrov said....
"All will become transparent, and I hope that everyone will be convinced that the rumors you refer to are absolutely groundless," Lavrov said....
Well. Why didn't they just say that to begin with?! That clears up the whole business, huh? :rolleyes: