Israelis Hijacked Russian Ship, Arctic Sea, Suggests EU Official Tarmo Kouts

EU official suggests Israel hijacked Russian ship

Published yesterday (updated) 03/09/2009 09:43 Bethlehem – Ma’an –

The European Union’s Rapporteur on Piracy has suggested that the Israelis could have been responsible for the recent hijacking of the Russian-crewed cargo ship the Arctic Sea.

In an interview with TIME Magazine published earlier this week the official, Admiral Tarmo Kouts, also the former commander of the Estonian armed forces, said that Israel could have been responsible for the ship’s disappearance in July because it was carrying weapons to another Middle Eastern country.

The Arctic Sea went missing after departing Finland for Algeria, purportedly carrying a shipment of timber. The disappearance was thought to be the first instance of piracy in European waters in modern times.

In mid August the Russian Navy boarded the ship and arrested the alleged hijackers. The captain, crew and cargo have all been detained.

According to Admiral Kouts, only a weapons shipment could account for Russia’s highly secretive behavior since the hijacking.

"There is the idea that there were missiles aboard, and one can't explain this situation in any other way," he told TIME. "As a sailor with years of experience, I can tell you that the official versions are not realistic."

An Israeli interception of the ship, Kouts said, is the most likely explanation. Russian analysts and journalists put forward this theory earlier, but senior Russian government officials vehemently denied it.

Arctic Sea secrets force maritime reporter into exile?

  Russia Today, 03 September, 2009, 15:02

The strange story of the merchant vessel Arctic Sea took a new twist on Thursday, after some media reported that the man who drew public attention to the missing vessel had to flee Russia.

Mikhail Voitenko, chief editor of the “Maritime Bulletin – Sovfracht” news website, was reported to have fled in fear for his freedom after a tip from unnamed sources.

Interfax cites him as saying that “some powerful people after the events over the Arctic Sea would want to take revenge.” The sources warned that a criminal case against Voitenko was about to be launched and advised him to flee.

“Those who called me said they couldn’t stop the gears and advised me to keep away from Russia for three or four months,” the news agency cites him as saying.

Infox.ru news website adds that, according to Voitenko, the tip was to prevent further scandal over the Arctic Sea vessel. “If you end up in prison now, it would be a new scandal, which we do not need at all now,” cites the unnamed well-wishers.

After the warning Voitenko was said to flee to Turkey in a matter of hours.

Voitenko’s website confirms that he is now in Istanbul.

“I’d like to tell all those concerned with my well-being that I am on a working visit in Istanbul and am making several interesting reports there,” the statement posted on Thursday says.

It neither confirms nor denies reports of Voitenko’s fleeing from Russia.

Later in the day the website published an official denial signed by its press center. It said that the rumours of his exile have been caused by communication problems. They confirmed that he is in Istanbul on a working visit.

Earlier this week the website had technical difficulties. Two entries signed by Voitenko’s name hint at some incoming news and allege that the downtime of the site was due to a cyber attack.

Mikhail Voitenko himself was not available on the phone to comment on the news.

Voitenko was the first person to report on the strange attack on the vessel on August 8. Later, he gave regular updates on the vessel’s fate and was among the first to speculate that the hijack may have been connected with an illegal cargo onboard.

The story quickly drew international attention, as the ship was reported to have gone missing and Russian President Medvedev ordered the use of the Navy and other military forces to search for it.

Numerous theories have arisen over what kind of secret cargo the Arctic Sea was carrying, ranging from drugs to nuclear materials.