[shamrock]

OK...so this is a bit out of the way from the usual dodgy areas where piracy is a regular happening...

http://newsroom.finland.fi/stt/showa...&group=General

A Finnish-owned cargo ship sailing under a Maltese flag was briefly hijacked off Sweden between Gotland and Öland last week, the Swedish police said in a statement Thursday, adding the hijackers had posed as police.

According to the Swedish authorities up to ten hijackers had boarded MV Arctic Sea, tied up the 15-strong Russian crew and left the ship after searching for something on board for about 12 hours.

...cont../..

[shamrock]

Further..

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=acu8.ET7Jaeg

[Koen]

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/...ip_916617.html

[shamrock]

Oh now this is really weird....a ship that gets hijacked off Sweden has now gone missing altogether off Portugal...

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2....9281&PageNum=0

Could it be a defection/asylum attempt by the crew?

[AncientBrit]

Some odd goings on with Maltese registered vessels these days. I am guessing that somewhere among that cargo of wood, is something that "someone/some country/ group of persons," wants real bad.
Who is to say that those who originally took over the ship were maybe putting something aboard, rather than looking for something to take off.
The possibilities are endless when one considers the millions of dollars the drug people and arms or people smugglers deal with these days

[shamrock]

The mystery of 'Arctic Sea' deepens..

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Whe.../1135248398283

[Pompeyfan]

Just reported on Radio Solent, but found link here.

http://news.google.co.uk/news/url?sa...l-1770266.html

David

[shamrock]

Yep, it's this one...

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=28305

Arctic Sea...hijacked off Sweden, then missing off Portugal...very mysterious.

[Marconi Sahib]

These two appear to be the same subject so merged together.

[Geoff_E]

In plain language the Maltese flag is "Mickey Mouse". A quick trawl through the shipping press and/or the Paris MOU site shows that up very quickly! A very high quota of sub-standard vessels (equating to sub-standard companies/management?)
Add in a load of characters who sound as if they own/manage English football clubs and ???

[SN NewsCaster]

A cargo ship may have travelled through the English channel under the control of pirates, coastguards say.

More from BBC News...

[JOHN PRUDEN]

If It Is A Russian Crew On Board I Hope That Thier Navy Shows No Mercy On Them That Boarded Her?

[SN NewsCaster]

Dmitri Medvedev has ordered Russia's navy to find a ship reportedly hijacked three weeks ago in the Baltic Sea.

More from BBC News...

[Marconi Sahib]

Must be a slow news today. Talk about spin
I've been amazed by the fact that the vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Dover Straits or lost in the English Channel.

[shamrock]

Well her last AIS reading was on July 29th...

http://www.shipais.com/showship.php?mmsi=215860000

Quite a few other ships around her who may have seen/heard something, perhaps.

It is very strange that a ship can just vanish without a trace like this.

Name: Arctic Sea
MMSI: 215860000 [MT]
IMO: 8912792
Callsign: 9HDN8
Speed/Dir: 12 kts / 253° WSW
Status: Underway
Dest: Bejaia
ETA: Aug04 23:00
Type: Cargo (70)
Details: General Cargo Ship
Size: 98m x 17m x 6.2m
Tonnage: 3998gt, 4389dwt
Built: Apr 1992
Received: 06:32:29 29 Jul 09 BST

[shamrock]

Her ParisMOU record seems OK...

IMO number: 8912792
Ships' name: ARCTIC SEA

23/08/2005 at Rouen (PA), France Initial inspection
28/04/2006 at Loviisa, Finland More detailed inspection
30/10/2006 at Holbaek, Denmark Initial inspection
22/05/2007 at Seaham, United kingdom More detailed inspection
31/05/2007 at Saint petersburg, Russian Federation Initial inspection
11/12/2007 at Oslo, Norway More detailed inspection
10/06/2008 at Loviisa, Finland Initial inspection
12/12/2008 at Marseille (PA), France More detailed inspection
17/07/2009 at Kaliningrad, Russian Federation More detailed inspection

The latest one being...

Inspection database | Inspection details
ARCTIC SEA
Inspection details :
Date of first boarding : 17/07/2009
Date of final boarding : 17/07/2009
Port of inspection : Kaliningrad, Russian Federation.
Type of inspection : More detailed inspection
Nb of deficiency(ies) : 3
Ship's particulars at the time of inspection :
IMO number : 8912792
Name : ARCTIC SEA
Flag : Malta
Callsign : 9HDN8
Ship type : General cargo - multipurpose ship
Gross tonnage : 3988
Keel date : 1990
Classification society :
- Class certificate issued by Lloyd's Register (LR), classification society responsable for issuance of class certificate as at date of first boarding
- Class certificate issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS), classification society responsable for issuance of class certificate as at date of first boarding
Statutory certificates :
- Cargo ship safety equipment is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Document of compliance (DoC) is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- International ship security certificate is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Safety management certificat (SMC) is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Cargo ship safety construction is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) last survey in Russian Federation on 16/07/2009 by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Cargo ship safety radio is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) last survey in Russian Federation on 16/07/2009 by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Oil pollution prevention (iopp) is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) last survey in Russian Federation on 16/07/2009 by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Load lines certificates is issued by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) last survey in Russian Federation on 16/07/2009 by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
Ship manager
- Solchart Arkhangelsk, 52, SOVETSKIKH KOSMONAVTOV AV, 163000 ARKHANGELSK, Russian Federation
Areas inspected :
- Accommodation and galley
- Engine and steering room
- Navigation bridge
- Outside decks and forecastle
Operational controls carried out
- Communication equipment
- Emergency fire pump
- Emergency generator
- Emergency steering
Deficiencies :
- ISM related deficiencies, Reports of non-conf., accidents & hazardous occur.
- Operational deficiencies, Manuals instructions, etc.
- Ship's certificates and documents , Continuous synopsis record

[shamrock]

Nautilus International have put out this statement regarding the Arctic Sea affair also...

http://www.nautilusint.org/News-and-...aspx?newsid=31

Seems to have completely stumped everyone as to where this ship has gone.

I still wonder if they will turn up somewhere wanting asylum.

[shamrock]

Just out of curiosity, how much fuel would this ship have on board....surely it would have to find a port at some point and refuel otherwise it would be dead in the water?

[chadburn]

This sounds like possibly a Crew highjack for previous non paid wage's. Valuable cargo on board.

[shamrock]

The Maritime Bureau believe that the ship may have had a change of name...

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2....9214&PageNum=0

That would explain the disappearance and the fact that she isn't dead in the water without fuel somewhere.

[SN NewsCaster]

Russian navy ships hunt in the Atlantic for a cargo ship that vanished more than two weeks ago, triggering an international mystery.

More from BBC News...

[wigger]

Its also been mentioned elsewhere that just maybe, the ship was carrying a bit more than just timber. Its not impossible that the ship is now well on its way to the intended destination (not the reported destination) with the original crew. Could be a nice little earner!

[AncientBrit]

"Relatives of the Arctic Sea's 15 crew members - all of whom are said to come from the northern Russian port city of Arkhangelsk - have so far been unwilling to speak to the media."

Am I the only one who finds this more than a little odd? There is way more to this than even the most fertile mind can imagine.
Husbands, lovers and family, missing at sea, no one knows where for something like 3 weeks and the relatives wont speak to the media???????

[wigger]

The more rumours come out, the more suspicious it seems for sure. Of course, it could all be just that - rumours. Lets wait and see, as for me?, I'm going for a cargo of arms to Africa.....far fetched? maybe.....

[SN NewsCaster]

As the hunt continues for a cargo ship that has disappeared from radars for two weeks, the BBC's Penny Spiller looks at what could have happened to the Arctic Sea.

More from BBC News...