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Russia 'finds missing cargo ship' Russia 'finds missing cargo ship'
(20 minutes later)
Russia says it has found a missing cargo vessel near the Cape Verde islands and retrieved its Russian crew.Russia says it has found a missing cargo vessel near the Cape Verde islands and retrieved its Russian crew.
Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the 15-strong crew had been taken on board a Russian vessel. They were in good condition, he said. Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the 15-member crew had been taken on board a Russian vessel. They were in good condition, he said.
The last previous sighting of the Finnish-owned Arctic Sea was in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July. The Finnish-owned Arctic Sea went off radar after passing through the English Channel with its cargo of timber.
On Saturday police in Finland said a ransom demand - which had not been confirmed as genuine - had been made. Speculation over the cause of its disappearance had ranged from pirates to a mafia dispute to a commercial row.
There has been huge speculation over the reason for the ship's disappearance, ranging from pirates to a mafia dispute to a commercial quarrel. The Arctic Sea was found early on Monday 300 miles (480 km) off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, Tass news agency quoted Mr Serdyukov as telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. name="up"> class="bodl" href="#map">Click here for a map charting reported sightings of the Arctic Sea
The 4,000-tonne Maltese-flagged vessel went off radar after passing through the English Channel with its cargo of timber.
It was found early on Monday 300 miles (480 km) off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, Tass news agency quoted Mr Serdyukov as telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"The crew have been transferred to another ship. They are being interrogated now in order to find out what happened," Mr Serdyukov said, according to the agency."The crew have been transferred to another ship. They are being interrogated now in order to find out what happened," Mr Serdyukov said, according to the agency.
Carrying timber reportedly worth $1.8m (£1.1m), the 4,000-tonne vessel sailed from Finland and had been scheduled to dock in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August.
The crew reported having been boarded by up to 10 armed men as the ship sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July, but the intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours.
The last known contact with the crew was when the Arctic Sea reported to British maritime authorities in Dover as it passed through the English Channel.
It was then sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July.
On Saturday, police in Finland said a ransom demand - which had not been confirmed as genuine - had been made.
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