Russia arrests pirates on mystery ship

webmaster — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:46:59 +0000

MOSCOW - The freighter Arctic Sea has resurfaced after its mysterious disappearance, but many questions about the incident remain unanswered: Who are the alleged pirates who hijacked the ship? Did it transport drugs, weapons or even nuclear materials? And why was Russia so eager to locate the ship?Moscow on Monday said the Russian navy had freed the crew of the freighter and arrested eight suspected hijackers after the ship had been missing for weeks. The Arctic Sea was located off the coast of West Africa, after it had diverted off its course from Finland to Algeria after being hijacked by eight suspected pirates, Moscow said.

Russia says eight armed men — four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians — took control of the freighter July 26 when it was sailing in Swedish waters. Instead of continuing on to its destination Algeria, they set course for western Africa. Initial reports said the men left the vessel without taking anything.

There has been much speculation about why the Arctic Sea, which was reportedly transporting wood worth less than $2 million, was hijacked. The ship’s owner says no claims of ransoms were made, and Russia has repeatedly misinformed the public about the ship’s whereabouts.

Some experts have hinted at the possibility that the ship may have a much more valuable freight: speculation included drugs, Russian arms deliveries to a West African country, or even nuclear proliferation.

Mikhail Voitenko, the editor of Russian Maritime Bulletin-Sovfracht, told the London-based Daily Telegraph that the crew doesn’t know why the hijacking took place. He said Moscow, which sent four warships after the Arctic Sea, may have pursued the freighter to safeguard its national interest.

“The operation cost more than the cargo and ship combined,” he told the newspaper. “It makes sense only if looked at as a conflict between states. I believe states, state interests, were involved in what happened. I believe the countries involved found a solution and agreed to ‘keep it in the family.’”

European experts don’t believe in a case of traditional piracy: The Baltic Sea is one of the world’s best-secured waters. The last time pirates attacked a ship here was in the 17th century. “Usually pirates need a safe haven close by to operate from, as is the case with piracy off the coast of Somalia, which is totally different,” one EU maritime official told the same newspaper.

The Russian sailors remain on the Russian navy vessel. The alleged pirates are being questioned, and the coming days may see further revelations.

“This is quite a unique and particular case, the full details of which will one day certainly make a story for a Hollywood movie,” a European Commission spokesman said Tuesday.

Source: UPI

More Somali pirate attacks expected in September

Suufi — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:39:28 +0000

The British commander of the European Union’s anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia has warned that there could be a significant increase in pirate attacks on merchant ships following the end of the monsoon season.

Rear Admiral Peter Hudson, the senior British officer commanding the EU anti-piracy mission, said the current monsoon season — with waves rising up to four metres — had led to a drop in the seizing of merchant ships in the region.

But as the weather changes in the next few months, pirate activity could pick up sharply, Rear-Admiral Hudson told the UK-based Financial Times newspaper.

“There’s a possibility that pirates will come out in force in the autumn,” he said.

“As the commander, I have to work with colleagues in Nato and other coalition forces to make sure we put our ships in the best place to counter that.”

At present the large anti-piracy patrol operation involving 34 naval ships has led to a marked decline in successful pirate attacks on merchant shipping.

Six months ago, one in three pirate attacks in the region were successful. Today it is one in nine, an official from Operation Atalanta said.

However, with 25,000 merchant ships passing through the Gulf of Aden each year, the scale of the challenge is huge.

Rear Admiral Hudson has warned already merchant shipping that a significant number of attacks might take place in the Gulf of Aden in September in spite of increased surveillance operations by national navies off Somalia.

Since the EU task force, was launched a year ago, it has been in the vanguard of the international anti-piracy drive.

The EU coalition has some 12 ships on patrol in the region, Nato has five and the US-led “combined maritime force” four. National navies, including Russia, China, India and Japan, have a total of 13 ships on anti-piracy patrol.

Admiral Hudson said there was far more pressure on pirates because of the large number of forces in the area. But the scale of ocean that needed to be patrolled — two million sq km — made anti-piracy operations difficult.

Source: The East African

Alshahid Network » Piracy

Russia arrests pirates on mystery ship

More Somali pirate attacks expected in September