Tinfoil hat time, Russian ship with crew disappear...

[Mr.Penguin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8192350.stm

Russian crew ship 'disappears'


A cargo ship with a Russian crew has disappeared off the coast of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean, the Russian maritime journal Sovfracht reports.

It says contact with the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea vessel, with a crew of 13, was lost on 28 July.

Russia's navy and security services are trying to locate the ship.

The same vessel was boarded by armed men in the Baltic Sea on 24 July. The attackers later left without taking any money or valuables, Sovfracht says.

It adds that the vessel - which was reportedly carrying timber - was due to arrive at an Algerian port on 4 August.

Arctic Sea was built in 1991 and is operated by a firm based in Russia's northern city of Arkhangelsk, Sovfracht says.

Ok wierd...

But wait there is more, about a month ago:...

Europe News

Jul 31, 2009, 14:01 GMT

Stockholm - Swedish police Friday treating very seriously reports of a mysterious presumed pirate attack on a Maltese- registered freighter in the Baltic Sea.

Swedish deputy crime police chief Tommy Hydfors confirmed to the German Press Agency dpa the report that eight heavily-armed masked men on Friday last week boarded Finnish-owned freighter Arctic Sea from a rubber dinghy.

According to the ship's 15-member Russian crew, the armed men claimed to be drug enforcement agents and thoroughly searched the ship, reacting violently to anyone who got in their way, including using a rifle butt to knock out teeth from one crew member.

The ship was held for 12 hours before the hijackers men left again without taking anything.

Investigators speculated that the 'pirates' may have actually been a drugs gang that was acting on a tip to search for contraband.

Investigator Ingemar Isaksson was quoted by the Swedish daily Expressen as saying there were a number of open questions, including why the crew waited several days before reporting the incident to the ship's owners Solchart Management.

Investigators however said they was no indication of a possible a rise in piracy in Swedish waters, which had not seen a single incident of piracy in modern times.

The Arctic Sea, which was carrying a shipment of wood from Finland to Algeria, continued its journey following the reported incident.

And to ensure that conspiracists has some thing to work with, between 1996 and 1998 she was an Israelis ship, the ZIM VENEZUELA...


Tom Clancy eat your heart out....

[Razgovory]

Meh.  Russian disapear all the time.

[jimmy olsen]

And the ship's been found off of Cape Verde. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32417645/ns/world_news-europe/

France confirms Russian ship at Cape Verde
Sailors radioed attack in July then lost contact; maritime experts puzzled

AP
updated less than 1 minute ago

MOSCOW - A Russian-manned cargo ship that vanished in the Atlantic last month has been found near Cape Verde, the French Defense Ministry said Friday.

Ministry spokesman Capt. Jerome Baroe said Cape Verde coast guards confirmed the Arctic Sea was discovered Friday afternoon about 520 miles off the former Portuguese colony off the West African coast.

The Arctic Sea has been missing since it passed through the English Channel on July 28.

The Maltese-flagged freighter sent radio messages as it sailed south along the coasts of France and Portugal, but then all contact was lost.

France was involved in search efforts together with several other countries.

'We do not have a specific position'
NATO spokesman Cmdr. Chris Davies at NATO's maritime headquarters in England said NATO was monitoring the situation but was not directly involved in the search.

"We do not have a specific position," he said. NATO began watching developments after the ship reported coming under attack in the Baltic Sea because it was an unusual situation, he said.

The crew had reported that the ship was boarded June 24 in Swedish waters by up to a dozen masked men, who tied them up, questioned them about drug trafficking, beat them and carried out an extensive search before leaving 12 hours later in a high-speed inflatable boat.

The alleged attack, unusual in itself, raised further concerns because it was not reported until the freighter had passed through Britain's busy shipping lanes and was heading out into the wide Atlantic.

A second attack?
The European Commission suggested the ship may have come under attack a second time. "Radio calls were apparently received from the ship, which had supposedly been under attack twice, the first time off the Swedish coast and then off the Portuguese coast," said commission spokesman Martin Selmayr. He said he could add no further comment so as not to hinder the ongoing law enforcement activities.

The Portuguese Foreign Ministry said, however, that the ship was never in Portuguese territorial waters.

The ship's Russian operator, Solchart Arkhangelsk, said it had no information about a possible second attack.

French maritime authorities said they received radio messages on July 29 as the ship sailed past the north coast of France. The Arctic Sea's report to British maritime authorities as it passed through the Dover Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, was the last known voice contact with the crew.

The ship had been due to make port Aug. 4 in Algeria with a $1.8 million haul of timber.

The Malta Maritime Authority said the Arctic Sea "has not approached the Straits of Gibraltar, which indicates that the ship headed out in the Atlantic Ocean."

Speculation on what might have happened to the ship has ranged from suspicions that it was carrying secret cargo — possibly narcotics — to theories about a commercial dispute. Security experts have been wary of attributing its disappearance to bandits, noting that piracy is almost unheard of in European waters.

"It would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with 'traditional' acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea," Selmayr said.

Three main types of piracy
David Osler, a maritime journalist at Lloyd's List in London, said there are three main types of piracy. There is the sort seen in Somalia, where a gang takes the ship and the captain, and demands a ransom in return for release.

In the Far East, criminals would steal the entire ship, repaint it and trade it — creating what are called "phantom ships," Osler said in an interview.

And in less developed areas, piracy has sometimes been more like armed robbery, he said, noting that ships often carry cash around for necessities while traveling. "It's like holding up the local liquor store," he said. "It's just for cash."

Osler said the 18-year-old Arctic Sea was not particularly valuable. "The ship isn't really worth stealing," he said, noting most such ships have a life of 20-25 years.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press

[Caliga]

btw the captain is named Marko Ramius.

[FunkMonk]

The Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan.

[I Killed Kenny]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

[Viking]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

In Icelandic the country is called "Grænhöfðaeyar" Green Head Islands. In other news, they are also a significant recipient of Icelandic aide.

[Caliga]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

Hey, that's a good point.

[DGuller]

Wow, those Russians must have some serious wood on that ship.

[The Brain]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

You lecturing native speakers on English = offensive.

[Fate]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

Verde is a fairly common word in US English. Capo certainly isn't.

[DontSayBanana]

IKK, we tend to assimilate words, particularly when they sound more interesting than what they would mean translated. "Cape Verde" sounds a hell of a lot more interesting than "Cape Green."

[Duque de Bragança]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

Verde is a fairly common word in US English. Capo certainly isn't.

Capo certainly isn't in Portuguese neither. 

[PDH]

Cape Green is boring.  Cabo sounds stupid or Mexican, so we change that.

[Razgovory]

I really don't understand why you people call it Cape Verde, and not Cabo Verde, at least you should call it Cape Green, if you want to translate the name of the country.

Verde is a fairly common word in US English. Capo certainly isn't.

It's fairly common.  Refers to a mob boss.