No hazardous chemicals, materials found on Arctic Sea

The Arctic Sea has been inspected by the Civil Protection Department and found to be free of any radioactive material or dangerous chemicals.

CPD personnel boarded the Maltese-flagged vessel 14 nautical miles off Malta late yesterday morning, government sources said.

The Arctic Sea was clear; nothing abnormal was found, the sources said.

The fate of the vessel, manned by a Russian crew, was shrouded in mystery after it was hijacked in Swedish waters in late July before being recovered by the Russian navy in the Atlantic Ocean several weeks later.

Members of the crew had resisted the hijackers and were injured. In fact, one had his teeth broken in a fight, according to accounts given to people who boarded the Arctic Sea yesterday.

The crew members said they were locked in their cabins until they were freed by the Russian navy in Cape Verde. The hijackers apparently also destroyed the long distance communication equipment and took the ship’s black box.

The crew insisted that the ship carried nothing but timber. In fact, pine could still be seen on the ship and could be smelt immediately when one boarded, the sources said.

Reports in the international press had mentioned the possibility that the vessel, officially carrying timber, in fact had a secret cargo of weapons. This was denied by the Russian authorities, that had also declared the Arctic Sea safe.

Even though the Russians carried out a series of tests after the ship went missing, the Maltese authorities still decided to carry out their own.

Yet, the ship will only be allowed to enter port in Malta after the approval of the police and the maritime authority. If so cleared, the ship will be escorted into port to undergo repairs, mainly to its communication systems, surveying and certification. It will then be handed back to its owners outside Maltese territorial waters next week, the authority said.