Mystery ship laden with timber returns to Malta after odyssey from Finland to Africa

October 25th, 2009 Putin says Russia will delay wood export duty hikeST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Sunday that Russia will further delay the introduction of a higher export duty on raw timber that has deeoply worried neighboring Finland.

September 3rd, 2009 Russian expert in Arctic Sea case flees countryMOSCOW — The Russian maritime expert who was among the first to raise the alarm about the mysterious disappearance of the Arctic Sea freighter said Thursday he has fled the country after receiving a threatening phone call. Mikhail Voitenko, the editor of the online Maritime Bulletin-Sovfracht, posted an article about the ship's disappearance on Aug.

August 27th, 2009 Russia charges 8 in Arctic Sea caseMOSCOW — Russia has formally filed criminal charges against eight alleged hijackers of the freighter Arctic Sea, whose voyage is still heavily shrouded in mystery. The General Prosecutor's Investigative Committee said Thursday seven of the suspects are being charged with kidnapping and piracy and the eighth with organizing the crimes.

August 26th, 2009 Russia to seek help probing Arctic Sea mysteryMOSCOW — Russian authorities say they will ask other nations to help answer questions about a freighter embroiled in a high-seas mystery. But an official suggests Russia wants firm control of the probe into the voyage of the Arctic Sea and its alleged hijacking.

August 25th, 2009 Russia: Freighter search found no suspicious cargoMOSCOW — Russia moved to quash speculation that a freighter embroiled in a high-seas mystery might have been carrying sensitive cargo, saying Tuesday that an initial search of the Arctic Sea last week uncovered nothing suspicious. But the Foreign Ministry statement — which also said the Arctic Sea's captain had falsely claimed it was a North Korean ship headed from Cuba to Sierra Leone — appeared unlikely to end the questions about the vessel and its voyage.

August 25th, 2009 Report: Russian questions freighter cargoMOSCOW — Russia's top investigator said it is possible a freighter embroiled in a high-seas mystery was carrying more than just timber, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday. The reported comment by federal Investigative Committee Chief Alexander Bastrykin is the first suggestion by a Russian official that the Arctic Sea could have been carrying a sensitive cargo — a suspicion raised by observers who followed the weekslong saga.

August 21st, 2009 Russian court arrests suspected ship hijackersMOSCOW — A Moscow court has formally arrested eight people suspected of hijacking a freighter at the center of a monthlong high-seas mystery, according to Russian news agencies. The Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea left Finland on July 21 carrying a load of timber but then appeared to vanish in the Atlantic.

August 16th, 2009 Russian envoy: search continues for missing shipMOSCOW — Russia's envoy to NATO said Sunday that operations to find a missing freighter and its 15 Russian crew members are in full swing and he was optimistic of quick success. Russian and European maritime officials are searching for the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea and its euro1.3 million ($1.8 million) cargo of timber.

August 15th, 2009 Report: Vanished ship's signal appears off FranceMOSCOW — A Russian maritime Web site said the tracking system for a freighter missing since last month was broadcasting signals on Saturday from the Bay of Biscay, but French Marines said the signals were coming from Russian warships. The contradictory claims deepened the mystery surrounding the ship, the Arctic Sea.

August 15th, 2009 Reports conflict over vanished ship's whereaboutsMOSCOW — A Russian maritime Web site said the tracking system for a freighter missing since last month was broadcasting signals on Saturday from the Bay of Biscay, but French Marines said the signals were coming from Russian warships. The contradictory claims deepened the mystery surrounding the ship, the Arctic Sea.

August 15th, 2009 Finland says ransom demanded for missing shipMOSCOW — A ransom demand has been received for the return of a Russian-manned freighter that went missing last month in the Atlantic, Finnish investigators said Saturday. It was not immediately clear if the ransom demand was legitimate, and the whereabouts of the Arctic Sea, its 15 crew members and its €1.3 million ($1.8 million) cargo of timber remain a mystery.

August 13th, 2009 Investigators across Europe join search for shipMOSCOW — The disappearance of a Russian-manned cargo ship in the Atlantic more than two weeks ago spawned a variety of theories and intriguing reports Thursday as the search drew in investigators from across Europe. Russia had naval vessels and satellites scanning the ocean for the Arctic Sea — last heard from on July 28 while sailing through the English Channel with a €1.3 million ($1.8 million) cargo of timber.

July 16th, 2009 Denmark, Ireland have EU's highest pricesBRUSSELS — Denmark, Ireland and Finland had the highest overall prices of all European Union nations for consumer goods such as food, clothing and electronics last year, the EU statistics agency said Thursday. Eurostat said widely different taxes on food, alcohol and tobacco across the bloc's 27 states account for a massive price gap where Ireland tops the table and Romania is cheapest.

May 2nd, 2009 NAIROBI - Somali pirates have hijacked a Malta-flagged ship with 28 Ukrainian crew on board in the Indian Ocean, a maritime official said Saturday. The Malta-flagged MV Ariana was seized late Friday, Andrew Mwangura, East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Programme, said.

February 4th, 2009 KIEV - Somali pirates have freed an Ukrainian ship laden with weapons including 33 tanks, the Ukrainian government said Thursday. The ship MV Faina was seized off the coast of Somalia in September and was bound for the Kenyan port of Mombasa.