Arctic Sea re-appears on list of arrivals at Algerian port

The elusive M/S Arctic Sea, the Maltese-registered cargo ship that was hijacked in late July, was again sighted on the list of arrivals at the Port of Bejaïa in Algeria on Sunday. According to the list, the ship is scheduled to arrive at the port on October 4th.
      The Arctic Sea was seen on the same list twice in August but then it disappeared. At present, the exact location of the mysterious cargo ship is unknown. The vessel was to get a new crew in Las Palmas.
      Most of the crew were flown home to Russia when the Russian Navy captured the Arctic Sea last month near Cape Verde. Only four crew members remained on board to steer the ship.
     
Officially the Arctic Sea was taking lumber from Finland to Algeria, and its scheduled destination was the self-same Port of Bejaïa.
      Rumours continue to swirl around the case. According to some allegations, the ship would have been carrying stolen S-300 missiles in addition to the less exciting Finnish wood, and the contraband would have been on its way to Iran.
      In late July, the 98-metre-long cargo ship was reported to have been hijacked off the coast of Sweden, after which it was sighted again in the English Channel, and then it disappeared without trace before the Russian Navy tracked it down in the Atlantic.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  NBI: no knowledge of alleged weapons cargo on Arctic Sea (7.9.2009)
  Lawyer: Arctic Sea crew had fun with hijackers (25.9.2009)
  Russian inspectors: Arctic Sea only carried timber cargo (9.9.2009)

See also:
  Russia detains eight hijacking suspects on Arctic Sea (19.8.2009)
  Where are you, Arctic Sea? (11.8.2009)
  Crew of Arctic Sea released after nearly two weeks (31.8.2009)