thank any of the other “official” stories that have been coming out about the disappearance of that Russian freighter a few weeks ago. If you haven’t been following the story, here’s the background:
WHO: The Arctic Sea and its crew of 15
WHAT: On July 24, the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea radioed that it had been boarded by gunmen posing as law enforcement officers off the coast of Sweden, and its 15 Russian crew members had been tied up and beaten. The ship then sailed into the English Channel with its load of Finnish timber, while making routine communications with British maritime authorities, before slipping off the radar.
WHY IT HAPPENED: European shipping officials are becoming increasingly suspicious that modern-day piracy on the high seas has spread to Europe from the lawless waters of East Africa — although the worldwide recession has also sparked an increase in maritime insurance fraud.
WHAT’S BEING DONE: Five Russian naval vessels — reported to include nuclear submarines — have been dispatched to search for the missing freighter. Finnish police are also helping.
This seems a much more likely explanation than a pirate attack on a vessel carrying lumber in the North Sea off the coast of Sweden (unheard of in this day and age):
Maritime expert flees Russia over Artic Sea reporting
An outspoken Russian journalist who alerted the world to the mysterious disappearance and likely hijacking of the Arctic Sea cargo ship this summer said on Thursday he’d fled Russia in fear of his life.
Mikhail Voitenko, a maritime expert, has suggested the ship may have been carrying a secret Kremlin arms shipment for the Middle East. He believes it was not hijacked as the Kremlin contends but was intercepted by Israeli forces in an international incident neither country wants made public.
In a phone interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said he’d flown to Turkey on Wednesday after receiving a menacing call from a “a cold official voice” the previous day.
The Kremlin has yet to supply a detailed version of events, the crew has refused to say what happened, and the alleged hijackers are in a Moscow jail.
With the Russians and the Israelis involved, I’m surprised that the “official” story didn’t involve gay alien pirates.