Russia: Arctic Sea Hijack Allegedly Unarmed

Russian authorities brought the suspected hijackers of the cargo vessel Arctic Sea to interrogation on Thursday.

The Russian Navy tracked the ship into the Atlantic after an act of piracy and boarded it off the Cape Verde islands, freeing 15 Russian crewmen. The ship apparently disappeared last month.

The suspected pirates, who are nationals of Estonia, Latvia and Russia were flown to a Russian military airfield and then taken to the Lefortovo high-security prison.

Two other aircraft also flew investigators and 11 of the 15-man crew to Moscow. Four crew members including the captain remained on the ship, which would be towed to a Russian port in the Black Sea for further investigation.

One of the hijackers told Russian television RTR they had boarded the ship to seek shelter from a storm and did not have weapons. He said they left without refueling. But a crew member said the men had handcuffed them with plastic leg and wrist ties.

Russia said the Arctic Sea was hijacked on July 24 off the coast of Sweden by eight armed men, who forced the crew to sail to Africa with its positioning systems switched off.

(NTDTV)