Lawyer: Arctic Sea crew had fun with hijackers

Konstantin Baranovski, the lawyer of one of the suspected hijackers of the Finnish-owned and Maltese-registered ship, the Arctic Sea, says that the Russian crew of the ship let the suspected pirates make themselves comfortable while on board.
      “They drank vodka and played sports, and spent free time together”, Baranovski said to Helsingin Sanomat.
      Baranovski made his first comments on the matter to the BBC.
     
According to Baranovski’s client, the suspects were testing navigation equipment near the Estonian coast in July. They got lost in poor weather, and were rescued by the Arctic Sea, whose Russian crew welcomed them on board. The crew and the suspected hijackers then partied many times while en route from the Baltic Sea, through the English channel, and to the Atlantic.
      The Russian Navy arrested the eight suspected hijackers in mid-August near Cape Verde. Baranovski said that they could not leave the ship, because the vessel did not stop at any port.
     
According to the BBC, the new details feed suspicions of the authenticity of the charges of hijacking. They would seem to support allegations according to which Russia had arranged the whole affair in order to keep the ship’s true load a secret.
      Russia has denied claims that the ship would have been carrying stolen S-300 missiles, in addition to Finnish wood, and that the contraband would have been on its way to Iran.
     
Lawyer Omar Ahmed, who represents another defendant in the case, spoke with Helsingin Sanomat by telephone. He did not want to comment on Baranovski’s claims about partying by the crew and the defendants, because he had not heard about the matter.
      Officially the Arctic Sea was taking lumber from Finland to Algeria.
      Russian news agencies report that the Arctic Sea, and a Russian warship that has accompanied it, had been anchored in the Atlantic off the Canary Islands on Thursday, when they disappeared from the radar of the Port of Las Palmas. Originally, the Arctic Sea was to have been handed over to Maltese officials in Las Palmas, but Malta has refused to receive it.
     
The wives of the four remaining crew members on board have issued an open letter calling for their husbands to be allowed to return home.
      The letter, quoted by the Swedish news agency TT, also appeals to Finnish officials in the matter. The letter also included appeals to Russia, Spain, and Malta.
      The wives say that fresh water is running out, and food is running low.
      “They are all stressed, after first being hijacked, and then living for a month in an information vacuum”, the letter states.
      Most of the crew were taken home to Russia when the Russian Navy boarded the vessel.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Russian inspectors: Arctic Sea only carried timber cargo (9.9.2009)
  NBI: no knowledge of alleged weapons cargo on Arctic Sea (7.9.2009)
  Russian Navy rescues Arctic Sea crew near Cape Verde (18.8.2009)
  Crew of Actic Sea released after nearly two weeks (31.8.2009)