09 August, 2009, 14:11
Various national police are searching for a Finnish cargo ship with 15 Russian crewmembers onboard. The boat disappeared from radar almost two weeks ago and it failed to dock this week as scheduled.
The search for the cargo ship, known as the ‘Arctic Sea,’ is underway with the Russian Federal Security Service, the FSB, and the Navy all participating in the hunt, together with other national security agencies. Officials fear the ship may have fallen prey to pirates.
The Arctic Sea, which was carrying a cargo of timber from Finland, was bound for Algeria. It was last detected on radar off the coast of Portugal
According to Swedish media reports, on July 24, the crewmembers of the ship radioed to authorities that they were being attacked near the Swedish island of Oland in the Baltic Sea by unidentified individuals wearing black masks.
The attackers are suspected of taking the crewmembers hostage for 12 hours while they conducted a search of the ship. The attackers then left without taking anything.
The fifteen members of the Arctic Sea's crew are all Russians. Some were reported to have been injured in the attack.
The Swedish police are also investigating the incident.
