LONDON (Aug. 13) - Russian navy vessels were trolling the Atlantic on Thursday in search for a Maltese-flagged ship that has been missing for more than two weeks since sailing through the English Channel.
The Arctic Sea, its 15 Russian crew members and its euro1.3 million ($1.8 million) cargo of timber had been due to make port AuThe Arctic Sea, a cargo ship, was last heard from on July 30 when it was in the Bay of Biscay, according to Russian media reports. It was due in port in Algeria on Aug. 4. The ship is seen here in Kotka, Finland, last year.
The ship was last heard from on July 28 making contact with British maritime officials and then sailing through the Dover Strait.
Speculation on what might have happened has ranged from theories that it might have been carrying secret cargo to the possibility that it fell victim to an almost unheard of case of sea banditry in European waters.
"If this is a criminal act, it appears to be following a new business model," Marine intelligence expert Graeme Gibbon-Brooks told Sky News on Wednesday.
Malta Maritime Authority said the MV Artic Sea "has not approached the Straits of Gibraltar, which indicates that the ship headed out in the Atlantic Ocean."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered that "all necessary measures" be taken to find the missing ship, and the Russian navy turned all of its vessels in the Atlantic — including three landing ships, a frigate and two nuclear-powered submarines — to search.
Finnish police said they also were assisting in the investigation.g. 4 in Algeria but haven't arrived.
The Arctic Sea, its 15 Russian crew members and its euro1.3 million ($1.8 million) cargo of timber had been due to make port AuThe Arctic Sea, a cargo ship, was last heard from on July 30 when it was in the Bay of Biscay, according to Russian media reports. It was due in port in Algeria on Aug. 4. The ship is seen here in Kotka, Finland, last year.
The ship was last heard from on July 28 making contact with British maritime officials and then sailing through the Dover Strait.
Speculation on what might have happened has ranged from theories that it might have been carrying secret cargo to the possibility that it fell victim to an almost unheard of case of sea banditry in European waters.
"If this is a criminal act, it appears to be following a new business model," Marine intelligence expert Graeme Gibbon-Brooks told Sky News on Wednesday.
Malta Maritime Authority said the MV Artic Sea "has not approached the Straits of Gibraltar, which indicates that the ship headed out in the Atlantic Ocean."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered that "all necessary measures" be taken to find the missing ship, and the Russian navy turned all of its vessels in the Atlantic — including three landing ships, a frigate and two nuclear-powered submarines — to search.
Finnish police said they also were assisting in the investigation.g. 4 in Algeria but haven't arrived.
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