Missing ship may have secret cargo

I too suspect that there is more smoke than sausage in the story.

Same ship as in this link?


www.cnn.com...

[edit on 9-11-2009 by mikelee]

Saw this and wanted to post it up for posterity in regards to this event..

The ship has finally delivered the cargo in Algeria..

"Arctic Sea" finally reaches destination in Algeria

The "Arctic Sea", the Finnish-owned, Maltese- registered ship believed to have been captured by pirates in early August has reached its destination in Algeria, Interfax news agency reported.

The ship was due to deliver its load of wood worth millions of dollars in early August, but went missing and was only recovered in mid-August off Cape Verde by the Russian navy, which said it had freed it from pirates.

Governments and spy agencies of around 20 countries were involved in investigating the incident. Reports said the "Arctic Sea" might have been carrying radioactive material or weapons, possibly smuggling them to Iran.

Looks like the end of the story.. or is it?

Omg here we go again. What spy agencies were investigating it? What reports said that there could've been radioactive gargo? Other than the news of it finally reaching algeria I'd say it's complete hogwash

Hey guys I am new to ATS but as a Deck cadet taking my 2nd Mates exam in 2 weeks perhaps I can provide information on procedures and protocols you would like to know of in regard to merchant ships.

First at my Nautical College, a lot of our lecturers who are all ex Captains and Chief Mates with many years of sea experience know that the story released from the media is not accurate and is most likely a cover up.

Second, we do not get pirates in Europe. Pirates usually take hostages and have demands, goals, desires etc etc. What many of my colleges believe is that this is most likely a government operation that was supposed to be cloak and dagger.

The SBS train with some of our merchant vessels in the English Channel and play games that involve getting to the bridge, knocking on the bridge door and asking the Officer of the Watch (OOW) to make them a cup of tea. The OOW's never detect the presence of the SBS via radar and visual lookout. My point being that boarding a ship, especially in Europe where the seas are choppy is a very difficult process and would require profession training to do so.

I also picked up some arguments over AIS whilst brushing through this thread. AIS does not inform the VTS the contents of a vessels cargo. The data on the AIS is input manually at the discretion of the Captain, so you could lie about the vessels particulars if that was the Captains desire.

Vessels are usually checked for validity by declaring their dangerous cargo to the VTS (which is mandatory in most of the world), the vessels IMO number, last port of call, next port of call, number of crew on board, ETA at the next port of call and a range of other questions. Details could be concealed or forged but, it would be a tricky process.

In the past, nearly 20 years ago a cargo vessel sailing from Turkey was waiting instructions from it's shipping company. It spent two weeks at anchor off the Greek mainland. Eventually the Greek authorities boarded, found out the vessel had a cargo of dynamite, the shipping company that owned the vessel had vanished and the Captain was completely clueless as to who his real employers were. It eventually turned out that the vessel was carrying those explosives for the IRA and the vessel would have been eventually been directed to sail for Cork.

It is not always unheard of for this kind of incident to occur in our industry.

If you have anymore questions, feel free too ask or you can send a private message if desired.

Thanks for your time

To the 2nd part, piracy is rare or non existent in europe. However we are not somehow magically special, people here can try desparate things in tough economic conditions too. Also there was ransom demands made but those were very vague.

True on both accounts and especially about the scanty information on piracy reports.

However all ships have SASS buttons which is activated in the event of an emergency. It is a silent alarm that is sent to the Flag States coastguard or equivalent and to the companies HQ to the DP (Designated Person). Usually there is one in the Captains cabin, one on the Bridge and another else where. I can guarantee that alarm was activated and the appropriate authorities were notified. We have been taught that any vessel that activates it's SASS alarm is with in 2 hours of a military response from anywhere on the globe. Satellites would have been pointing at that ship for intel gathering for the relevant agencies.

That vessel passed through Europe and out the English Channel on at least a 2 to 3 day transit time and in to the Atlantic. I am positive that the western countries of Europe, especially France, Germany and the UK were told or advised to back down and would have been ready to respond under normal circumstances.

(Picked this up before) I don't think that vessel was carrying cargo for Iran as a voyage all around Europe, in to the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (Pirated waters), out in to the Indian Ocean and up in to the Arabian Sea and in to the Gulf of Oman would be much more risky than such a shipment being transported via rail, over from Russia, through some old USSR nations and in to Iran.

However it is not impossible, I'm just saying it is more likely than a long voyage such as this, especially around Europe where security is quite strict.

You forgot that Russia and Iran are neighbours. They wouldn't need to go through any other countries if they wanted. That's one of the many reasons why the Iran scenario is bogus. I've listed many on this thread but that's the one that strikes out.

Russia and Iran are seperated by nations on landmass but they do however have a link too each other through the Caspian Sea.

niacblog.files.wordpress.com...

Good call for playing down the Iran theory as that is what most people are going for at the moment.

I'm sure in the future information surrounding this matter will be released, but the problem is that it may take years. Quite annoying really.

Ok, so no just to add to the mess the attorney representing one of the kidnappers has gone missing. Noone has had contact with him since wednesday and they've made a missing persons report to the police. Finnish link.

reply to post by PsykoOps


Here's a different link:


Russia lawyer in Arctic Sea affair missing: report

A lawyer working for one of the suspects arrested in the affair of the hijacted Arctic Sea has gone missing, one of her colleagues told the Interfax agency Saturday.

Elena Romanova-Lebedeva has not been seen or heard from since she left her Moscow office on Wednesday

I just read that she was found. She had another case far away and for some reason wasn't in contact with anyone.

the sass button wouldnt necessarily have been triggered esp if " a man in black appears at your temple with an mp5"...as your own post makes clear ..

[edit on 2-1-2010 by gambon]

Yeah good point. Btw the ship is actually back in the same harbor where it left from Finland. Finnish police are going to check it out since it's the first time they get access to it.

One of the detained men from the Arctic Sea has been found guilty of "piracy", and has been sentenced to five years in jail.


BBC: Russia jails 'pirate' over Arctic Sea ship mystery

7 May 2010


A Moscow court has handed down a five-year jail term to one of the eight men detained over the mysterious seizure of the cargo ship Arctic Sea.

[---]

While the authorities will be pleased to see these men convicted, there are still many unanswered questions about the whole Arctic Sea affair, which became one of the great mysteries of last summer, the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says.

There isn't much of new stuff about this. Nothing on media. All those theories which were floating around haven't been confirmed or denied. Curious since a trial of all things should out the demons on the closet.

more reference to mossad , "pirates" still claim they were rescued then framed
news.bbc.co.uk...
link to good pics
[edit on 8-5-2010 by gambon]

[edit on 8-5-2010 by gambon]

Finally a journalist that has some seriously good common sense. Despite the fact that he repeats the 'mossad' source which is bullocks. He actually takes time to investigate and also makes a point that Finnish dock workers would've noticed the S-300's. for this guy.

Im convinced it is some kind of special metal or technology.
Could be a big target.

Please elaborate. What is? Do you have any sources or just a hunch?