2 min readMoscowAug 18, 2009 04:34 PM IST
First published on: Aug 18, 2009 at 04:34 PM IST
The Russian Navy has arrested eight suspected pirates for the hijacking of cargo ship Arctic Sea in Swedish waters,the country’s Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in Moscow on Tuesday.
The suspects,who boarded the ship in Swedish waters,include four Estonian citizens,two Latvians and two Russian nationals,he said,adding that the operation to rescue the crew was accomplished without a shot being fired.
“Eight people — not members of the crew — have been detained. These people,after claiming that their boat was not working,boarded the Arctic Sea and using the threat of arms,demanded the crew follow all of their orders without condition
“Then the Arctic Sea moved on to an African route indicated by the aggressors to after turning off navigation equipment,” Serdyukov told the media.
The cargo freighter,whose mysterious disappearance sparked a massive naval hunt,was found by a Russian warship off the coast of the Cape Verde islands west Africa on Monday.
At that time,the Arctic Sea was not “under the armed control” of hijackers or pirates.
“The crew has been transferred aboard our anti-submarine ship. All members of the crew are alive,healthy and are not under armed guard,” Serdyukov told President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday,which was broadcast on state TV.
The vessel left the Finnish port of Pietarsaari,on July 23,with a routine cargo of 6,700 cubic metres of sawn timber for scheduled unloading on August 4 at Bejaia’s docks,in Algeria. But it’s voyage plunged into unknown after the crew reported the first boarding in Swedish waters.
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