Dracula NO!

[Caliga]

Piracy fears as cargo ship vanishes off England
     
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Russia said Wednesday it is hunting for a cargo ship which vanished after being involved in what appears to be an unprecedented incident of piracy in European waters.

The Russian-crewed Arctic Sea, carrying a 6,500-tonne cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria, was last heard of two weeks ago when it passed through the English Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Moscow's Presidential Press service told CNN that Russian naval vessels in the Atlantic Ocean and "space-based" detection systems were searching for the missing boat after its failed to make its destination as expected on August 4.

President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the country's Defense Minister Anatoly Serduykov to "take all necessary measures to locate, monitor and, if necessary, to free the missing vessel," a statement said.

The Arctic Sea is believed to have been briefly hijacked off Sweden shortly after it began its journey. Swedish police said they were investigating the incident but the boat had continued on its way, vanishing after passing the English Channel.

Mark Clark of the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the ship crewed by 15 Russians made radio contact on July 28, but reported nothing untoward.

He said the agency was belatedly asked by Interpol on August 3 to look out for the Arctic Sea because it has been involved in a suspected hijacking incident off the coast of Sweden on July 24.

Swedish police intelligence and investigation chief Maria Lönnegård said her officers were in telephone contact with the Arctic Sea on July 31. They spoke to a man they believe was the captain, who said they were off the French coast.

She told CNN that statements taken from the crew describe how they they were boarded at 3 a.m. by what they thought was a Swedish drug enforcement team. They said the crewmen were tied up for 12 hours and several sustained injuries.

Lönnegård said during the suspected hijack, the vessel's radar and satellite links were off-line for two hours, during which it was witnessed performing "extreme maneuvers."

Russia's Defense Ministry said on it's Web site that Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Ladny was heading the search operation and had Wednesday passed through the Strait of Gibraltar en route to the Atlantic.

The ship, which embarked from Jakobstad in Finland, had been due to arrive un Bejaia in northern Algeria on August 4.

While piracy levels have recently increased off the coast of East Africa, incidents in European waters are unheard of, according to UK maritime experts.

"Attacks on ships are extremely rare, basically they don't happen," said Jeremy Harrison of the British Chamber of Shipping.

Approximately 400 ships pass daily through the Dover Strait -- the narrowest stretch of the English Channel -- and all are required to check in with either British of French coastguards.

The Arctic Sea is Maltese-flagged and Latvian-owned but operated by Finnish firm Solchart Management. Its €50,000 ($70,000) cargo of sawn timber is owned by another Finnish company, Stora Enso.

Stora Enso told CNN it had no idea of the whereabouts of the ship or its cargo.

[Grey Fox]

That ship is like a freaking zombie.

Thread #3.

[Caliga]

Wait.... this is the same ship that was also hijacked off Sweden?  MEOWTF?

[Josephus]

Piracy fears as cargo ship vanishes off England
     

The Arctic Sea is Maltese-flagged

I see nothing. I know  nothing.

[Caliga]

Once again a journalist fails on math and common sense; theres no way finished timber is only worth $10 a ton. Its true value is probably at least a magnitude higher.

The essence of lizard porn infused into the wood lowers its value considerably. 

[KRonn]

Return of the Norsemen, Vikings?   

[lustindarkness]

Pirates with wood?

[Caliga]

Pirates with wood?

They will use the wood to build: many pirate vessels!   

[Josquius]

Wait.... this is the same ship that was also hijacked off Sweden?  MEOWTF?

Thats confusing me too. Everything else I've seen says it was in the Baltic...

My random guess; the crew stole their own ship

[Caliga]

I'm trying to figure out how they think this would benefit them, if that's indeed the case.

[The Brain]

It's some kind of mafia shit/insurance crap/general scam BS.

[Slargos]

Wait.... this is the same ship that was also hijacked off Sweden?  MEOWTF?

It's starting to look pretty weird.

[Martim Silva]

Return of the Norsemen, Vikings?   

Never trust a Varangian. And they probably think that a Rus ship should be theirs, too...

[Mr.Penguin]

Return of the Norsemen, Vikings?   

Never trust a Varangian. And they probably think that a Rus ship should be theirs, too...

Come on, they were way passed our normal area of operation, I blame the french...