Missing Ship Located, Crew Alive: Russia
Source: The Associated Press
Posted: 08/17/09 1:52PM
Filed Under: Canada
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian-crewed freighter that sparked a high-seas mystery when it disappeared nearly three weeks ago has been found by a Russian naval frigate off the West African coast, the country's defense minister said Monday.
The Arctic Sea's 15 crew members, last heard from July 28, were alive and now aboard the navy ship, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev shown on national television.
Dangerous Waters
The Nivose: Pirates off the coast of Kenya messed with the wrong ship Sunday. Apparently, two pirate assault boats mistook the Nivose, a French military vessel, for a commercial ship and approached it "at great speed." A French helicopter intervened and the pirates, above, were seized.
Pierre Verdy, AFP/Getty Images
Yemeni Fishing Dhow: The Dutch frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provincien, part of a NATO force, rescued 20 hostages April 18 from the vessel, which Somali pirates were using as a mother ship. The Dutch forces also captured seven pirates but had to free the bandits because the forces have no authority to arrest them.
NATO / OTAN / AP
Pompei: Pirates overtook the Belgian-flagged Pompei in the pre-dawn darkness April 18. The Somali bandits hijacked the ship a few hundred miles north of the Seychelles islands. Belgium officials have not had contact with the 10 crew members on board the vessel. "There is no contact with the pirates, not with the crew, not with any other parties," Jaak Raes, director general of the Belgian Crisis Center, told reporters.
Belgian Government / AP
Irene: The Greek-owned Irene was taken April 14 by pirates in the waters off the Somali coast, with 23 crew members on board.
John Hark, AP
Maersk Alabama: Capt. Richard Phillips, right, was freed April 12 after being held on a lifeboat by Somali pirates for five days. When pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on April 8 in the Indian Ocean, Phillips offered himself as a hostage in exchange for freeing his ship and crew. Phillips was rescued when Navy SEALs shot his captors.
US Navy / Reuters
Liberty Sun: On April 14, the U.S. cargo ship Liberty Sun came under pirate attack and put out a distress call. The Navy's USS Bainbridge, which was transporting Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips home after his April 12 rescue from pirates, diverted course to assist. The Liberty Sun crew warded off the attackers by the time the naval vessel arrived.
Karel Prinsloo, AP
Tanit: French navy commandos stormed a sailboat being held by pirates off the Somali coast April 10 after the bandits threatened to execute their hostages. Four hostages, including a small child, were rescued, but a fifth captive was killed. He was identified as Florent Lemacon, owner of the Tanit. Two pirates were killed and three others taken prisoner, officials said.
ECPAD / AFP / Getty Images
Bow Asir: On April 10, pirates released the crew of the Norwegian-owned tanker, which was taken at the end of March. Somali pirate sources told reporters the bandits released the 27-member crew after the shipping company paid a $2.4 million ransom.
Fred Vloo, AFP / Getty Images
Blue Star: Somali pirates released the Blue Star in early March after holding the Egyptian vessel hostage for two months. The captain said the ship's owner, Abderrahman al-Awwa, paid a ransom of $1 million to secure the ship's release.
AFP / Getty Images
Faina: The Faina, which was loaded with Russian tanks and ammunition, was hijacked Sept. 25 by scores of Somali pirates. Here, pirates float beside the ship Sept. 28. The outlaws released the vessel Feb. 5, reportedly after receiving a $3.2 million ransom.
U.S. Navy / AP
He did not give details about what happened to the ship, saying the full story could be made known later Monday.
Since the Arctic Sea sailed from the Finnish port of Pietarsaari on July 21 with a euro1.3 million cargo of timber, a fog of rumors, unconfirmed reports and red herrings has swirled around it.
On July 30, Swedish police said the ship's owner had reported that the crew claimed the vessel was boarded by masked men on July 24 near the Swedish island of Gotland. The invaders reportedly tied up the crew, beat them, claimed they were looking for drugs, then sped off about 12 hours later in an inflatable craft.
But by the time the Swedish report emerged, the ship had already passed through the English Channel, where it made its last known radio contact on July 28. Signals from the ship's tracking device were picked up off France's coast the next day, but that was the last trace known until Monday.
The Arctic Sea was to make port in Algeria on Aug. 4. But after it was late by more than a week, Medvedev ordered the defense ministry to use all necessary means to find the freighter.
Subsequently, the ship was said to have been seen in the small Spanish port of San Sebastian, then in the area of Cape Verde. On Saturday, a Russian maritime expert said the ship's tracking device had sprung to life off France's coast — but France said the signals came from Russian warships.
The Day in Photos
Pilot John O'Shaughnessy stands on the wreckage of his plane. The pilot, whose small plane crashed into the Irish Sea caught a lucky break when a long-distance rowing team spotted him and came to his rescue.
GBRow.com
A cheeky squirrel in Alberta's Banff National Park has gone viral after stealing the spotlight in a tourist's photo. Melissa Brandts, who was visiting from Minnesota, had set up her camera on a tripod to capture her and her husband, Jackson, in front of picturesque Lake Minnewanka in May when the squirrel popped in front of the camera for a closer inspection. The image of the squirrel has gone viral since it appeared on the National Geographic's website on Aug. 7.
Melissa Brandts/CBC News
A lone fisherman waits for a bite while fishing from his boat in the deep fog on La Due Reservoir in Auburn, Ohio on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009.
AP Photo/Amy Sancetta
A member of the University of Wisconsin marching band plays a trombone in a corn field in Alto, Wisc. on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009. The band took part in the annual parade and members of the band played part of their performance in a field during the Alto Fair.
AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
A monkey gets his picture taken at a zoo in Beijing, China, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009.
AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel
Nepalese policemen detain Tibetan exiles during a protest against the Chinese government at the entrance of a United Nations office in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. A group of Tibetans participated in a demonstration urging the U.N. to draw attention to the Chinese government's suppression and human rights violations in Tibet.
AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe
A Chinese tourist cries for help behind the damaged windows of a tour bus in a village in Hu county, northwestern China. Fifty-one tourists were trapped for more than 8 hours on the bus after it ran over a scooter, killing two local residents. Relatives of the victims attacked the bus and prevented the passengers from leaving before local authorities negotiated their release.
AP Photo
President Barack Obama reaches around the head dress of Chief Joseph Medicine Crow to place a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom around his neck, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Taiwanese rescuers hold babies before crossing the river to evacuate the flooded village of Liugui following Typhoon Morakot, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, in Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan. Some 14,000 villagers have been rescued _ including 600 on Thursday _ since Typhoon Morakot dumped more than 80 inches (2 meters) of rain this past weekend, the island's disaster relief center said. The storm unleashed the worst floods the island has seen in 50 years.
AP Photo
Ashley Tisdale performs during the Donate Life Concert Series in Glendale, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles
Adding to the mystery, Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, told the ITAR-Tass news agency Monday that bogus information was deliberately provided to news media "which did not allow them to calculate the true actions of the Russian forces."
With details still sparse, Viktor Matveyev, director of the ship's operator Solchart, told The Associated Press "We are all incredibly happy. Now the big work starts to find out what happened."
Serdyukov said the crew was not under armed control when the ship was found around 2100 GMT (5 p.m. EDT) Sunday about 300 miles (480 kilometers) away from the island nation of Cape Verde.
"The crew is alive, all are alive and healthy," he said.
The crew members were taken aboard the Russian navy frigate Ladny, Serdyukov said.
The disappearance of the 98-meter (320-foot) Arctic Sea perplexed experts and officials across Europe, with speculation about what happened ranging from its being seized by pirates to being involved in a murky commercial dispute.
Finnish investigators reported Saturday that the ship's owners had received a ransom demand. But it was not clear if the demand came from people who actually held the ship, or from opportunistic charlatans.
Associated Press Writer David Nowak in Moscow contributed to this report.
91 %
9 %
