In the latest twist to the Arctic Sea hijacking saga, the Russian prosecutor's office yesterday told Interfax news agency that Maltese shipping inspectors would only be able to board the ship after Moscow completed its investigation.
The ship is berthed at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
The Malta Maritime Authority has said it intended carrying out an inspection of the ship to determine its seaworthiness.
The Finnish company operating the cargo vessel said it hoped Russian investigators would return the ship and its cargo soon. Solchart's chief executive Viktor Matveyev told AFP he had no idea when the ship could be handed over.
The Finnish company's inspectors were stopped by Russian soldiers from boarding the ship yesterday.
"I would be happy if Malta solved this problem, so we could fulfil our obligation and deliver the cargo to its final destination," he added.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman would not confirm the alleged involvement of Israeli secret agents in the mysterious disappearance of the Maltese-flagged cargo ship, reportedly to thwart the delivery of missiles to Iran.
The ministry "cannot confirm" Israel's involvement in any way in the hijacking of the Arctic Sea or that it carried missiles headed towards Iran, deputy spokesman Andy David said yesterday.
He also ruled out that the ministry had been in contact with Maltese authorities on the matter.
The ministry's reaction came in the wake of reports in the British media on Sunday that the Israeli intelligence service Mossad was behind the Arctic Sea's hijacking.
British press reports citing military sources in Israel and Russia said the Arctic Sea had been loaded with S-300 missiles at the naval port of Kaliningrad without the Kremlin's knowledge. Mossad had been monitoring the shipment and tipped off Moscow.
AFP quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissing the reports as "absolutely not true".
The Arctic Sea, which has a Russian crew, was allegedly hijacked in Swedish waters in late July before being recovered by the Russian navy in the Atlantic Ocean several weeks later.
The ship was officially carrying timber from Finland to Algeria.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com