MV Arctic Sea
Outline of the Arctic Sea
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
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| Owner: | Arctic Runner Shipping Inc. |
| Operator: | Great Lakes Feeder Lines |
| Port of registry: | |
| Builder: | Sedef Shipyard, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Yard number: | 84 |
| Christened: | 1997 |
| Completed: | 1992 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 8912792 |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 97.80 m |
| Beam: | 17.33 m |
| Height: | 38.0 m (from keel) |
| Draught: | 6.01 m (summer) |
| Depth: | 7.01 m |
| Ice class: | 1A |
| Installed power: | 4560 HP / 3360 kW |
| Propulsion: | 1 diesel engine |
| Speed: | 12.50 knots (23.15 km/h; 14.38 mph) |
| Crew: | 15 |
The MV Arctic Sea is a merchant vessel cargo ship, formerly registered in Malta that was reported as missing between late July and mid August 2009 en route from Finland to Algeria. On July 24, the Arctic Sea, manned by a Russian crew and carrying a cargo of what was declared to consist solely of timber, was allegedly boarded by hijackers off the coast of Sweden. The incident was not immediately reported, and contact with the ship was apparently lost on, or after, July 30. The Arctic Sea did not arrive at its scheduled port in Algeria, and on August 14 the ship was located near Cape Verde instead. On August 17 it was seized by the Russian Navy. An investigation into the incident is underway amidst speculation regarding the ship's actual cargo, and allegations of a cover-up by Russian authorities. The Arctic Sea was towed into harbour in the Maltese capital of Valletta on October 29, 2009.
The ship's hijacking and subsequent events remain mysterious as no credible explanation exists of its disappearance and Russia's conduct during and after capturing the ship. If confirmed to be an act of piracy, the hijacking of Arctic Sea would be the first known of its kind in Northern European waters for centuries.
Although by March 2011 all the hijackers had officially been found guilty of piracy, this has not led to – in the words of BBC correspondent Daniel Sandford – being "closer to knowing what actually happened".
The Arctic Sea is owned by a US-based company, Arctic Runner Shipping Inc. and operated by a Canada-based company, Great Lakes Feeder Lines, as of March 2010. During the hijacking the vessel was owned by a Finnish company and operated by Solchart Management.
The ship, manned by a Russian crew of 15 people, was carrying what was declared to be over $1.8 million worth of timber from Jakobstad (Finnish: Pietarsaari), Finland, to Béjaïa, Algeria. The 6,700 cubic meters of sawn timber were sold by Rets Timber, a joint venture between Stora Enso Oyj and UPM-Kymmene Oyj. The ship was between the islands of Öland and Gotland, in the territorial waters of Sweden, when it was allegedly boarded in the early hours of July 24, 2009, by a group of eight to ten English-speaking men, who approached on an inflatable boat, bearing the word 'polis' (Swedish for 'police'). According to the ship's owner, he learned from the captain that the intruders, claiming to be police officers, apprehended the crew, searched the ship and then left, leaving some crew members injured. The Swedish government said its police forces were not involved in boarding the vessel and launched an investigation.
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