Russia transfers 'Arctic Sea' to Finnish owners

The MV Arctic Sea has been transferred by Russia to its Finnish owners and is to berth at Boiler Wharf in Grand Harbour this evening after having been given the go-ahead by the Malta Civil Protection Department and the Malta Maritime Authority.

The freighter had been under Russian control since August when its forces took it over off the Cape Verde islands after it was reportedly hijacked in the Baltic Sea in July.

MMA officials said at a press conference this afternoon that yesterday at 7 pm the ship anchored 14 miles East of Marsaxlokk. At 10.35 a.m. officials from the Civil Protection Department and the MMA went onboard to carry out an inspection to ensure there was no radioactivity or other dangerous cargo. The all-clear was given at 4 p.m.

An MMA inspectorate team and a police team this morning boarded the ship at 11.30 a.m. to check on the ship's seaworthiness and to check if there was any evidence of criminal activity.

At 1.30 p.m. Russia handed over the ship to its Finnish owners.

At 2.30 p.m. Tug Malta took over the tow of the ship and the vessel started proceeding to Malta. It is expected to berth at 7.15 p.m.

The officials said the ship is being manned by the owners' crew, with a relief crew taking over tonight.

The Arctic Sea had been under Russian Navy control since August after having been reportedly seized by hijackers in July in the Baltic. Russian Forces took over the Russian-crewed vessel in August.

Both Russia and the ship owners have repeatedly denied that it ever carried a dangerous cargo or weapons.

The MMA officials said the ship is only carrying timber and will be treated like any other commercial vessel. It currently cannot steam on its own because of steering problems.

The MMA officials said they had full cooperation from the Russian authorities.

Asked whether they believed that the ship had been hijacked, the MMA officials said they had no other evidence to show otherwise.

They confirmed that the alleged hijackers would be prosecuted in Russia. This, they said, was within international law since any state could intervene when a ship was taken over by pirates.