This is like the plot of a Bruce Willis movie, fascinating stuff.
Russian crew under 'significant threat' as search continues for missing ship Arctic Sea

The lives of 15 Russian crew members on board the hijacked merchant vessel Arctic Sea were under "significant threat" on Sunday as joint Russia-Nato operations closed in on the missing ship.



By Bruno Waterfield
Published: 8:05PM BST 16 Aug 2009

The Arctic Sea, a Maltese-flagged cargo ship, was supposed to make port in Algeria with its cargo of timber on August 4 Photo: AP


An international maritime hunt for the Maltese flagged and Russian owned vessel, involving 20 nations and led by the Russian military and Western alliance, was in "full swing" this weekend after it was last sighted off the West African coast on Friday.
"The operation is in full swing and it's unfolding positively. The pace gives us grounds to hope for success," Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to Nato, told Russia's state-run Vesti broadcaster.

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The Malta Maritime Authority said a media blackout on operations over the "alleged aggravated extortion and alleged hijacking" was in place to protect the lives of the crew.
Finnish police investigators confirmed this weekend that a ransom demand had been received by the MV Arctic Sea's Russian owners, based in Finland, following a raid on the ship by armed intruders three weeks ago.
The precise figure of the "largish amount of money" demanded by the hijackers has not been released by the authorities.
"There has been a demand for ransom, which is money, and the demand has been made to the company which owns the ship," said Jan Nyholm, a Finnish detective chief superintendent.
Finland's YLE radio station has reported police sources who said that "the lives of the crew have been threatened if the ransom is not paid".
The Arctic Sea's crew reported a first boarding in Swedish waters on Jul 24 after a raid by 10 armed English-speaking men masquerading as anti-narcotics police officers.
Swedish police investigating the attack have "received pictures" of the injuries suffered by the crew following "hard" interrogations carried by the ship's attackers, who searched the vessel.
"There were bruises and detached teeth," said Maria Lonegaerd, the Swedish police officer leading the investigation.
According to European Union officials a second attack was reported a week later off the Portuguese coast, possibly by intruders who had remained as stowaways after the first boarding.
The Arctic Sea was last spotted by coastguards on Aug 14 in international waters 500 miles off the West African island archipelago of Cape Verde, but the vessel is believed to be under ongoing military surveillance.
Maritime experts have said that the Arctic Sea's hijacking was unlikely to be connected with its official manifest of timber, but could be linked to an illegal cargo carried without the knowledge of crew or the ship's owners.
Heinrich Blume, a former sea captain and German maritime expert, said that the ship's hijacking, which came shortly after the vessel had spent two weeks in Kaliningrad for repairs, could be linked to "seriously organised crime" and possible trafficking in nuclear materials.
"This is not about the transport of schnapps or cigarettes," he said.
"It wouldn't be worth going to such lengths for that. It could be something like plutonium."
Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority has dismissed the claim after tests for radioactive material were carried out on the Arctic Sea's dock in the Finnish port of Pietarsaari.
"It's just a stupid rumour," said Jukka Laaksonen, the head of Finnish agency.

Russian crew under 'significant threat' as search continues for missing ship Arctic Sea - Telegraph