Eight people have reportedly been arrested for the hijacking of the Arctic Sea. It is alleged that the group of four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians, approached Arctic Sea in a dinghy requesting help to repair a vessel then took over the ship at gunpoint on 24 July.
Arctic Sea’s crew of 15 are safe and are being debriefed by Russian naval personnel. The vessel, missing for two weeks after disappearing in the English Channel was found by the Russian Navy off Cape Verde Islands two days after denials were issued that she had been seen there.
Stil unexplained is why a Russian naval vessel transmitted an AIS signal from the Bay of Biscay on Saturday.
According to Malta’s Maritime Authority, Arctic Sea is flagged in Malta, Finnish, Swedish and Maltese authorities are conducting investigations in close cooperation into the alleged offences relating to the cargo vessel Arctic Sea.
