Arctic Sea: Crew waiting for money to enter Béjaïa

23/11/2009 Crew Arctic Sea will receive a salary
Natalya Gracheva (sob.korr. Komsomolskaya Pravda). Stockholm
Before I give permission for port call cargo ship in the port Béjaïa for unloading, late last week, the vessel was double-checked the territorial waters of Algeria.authorities organized a thorough inspection of Arctic Sea, conducting full-scale study includes examining, on levels of radiation. The examination procedure, take several days, was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Transport, Emergency and military authorities of Algeria. The vessel was found absolutely clean, and in an official letter from the Ministry of Transport said Arctic Sea rose, at last, for unloading at the port Béjaïa. We managed to get through to director Solchart Victor Matveev, to ask about salary seafarers. Recall, according to the union of seamen debt for the period from August 17 was to pay Russia, under the jurisdiction with which this number was the ship. However, the situation of seafarers and their families can not wait to address this issue for a long time, so we decided to once again appeal to the employer. The answer was unexpected. All this time we have been seeking reserves and resources. As a result, despite the fact that a subsidiary company - Arctic Sea Malta - is in distress, we decided to open a credit line from the Finnish company to fully compensate for the sailors forced to stay aboard the cargo ship. We agreed with the union scheme of payments for all debts, including - for the period in which the vessel will remain under the jurisdiction of Russia. Monday, November 23, will go first tranche and we will do everything to ensure that seafarers have received all their due in the near future. Arctic Sea will now work in the Far East. Were there any thoughts to change its name? Perhaps remained negative associations, prejudices? After dozens of tests were conducted, organized by the authorities of different countries - Russia, Malta, Algeria and others - we decided to keep the name of the ship. And the crew, and our company but survived everything: danger, and attacks Press, and all sorts of suspicions. I think that the Arctic Sea could be proud to wear his name.
Have you made any changes in security?
We have modernized the system of notification and signaling, it is more modern than today require international rules of navigation.One can say that in this sense, the Arctic Sea has become the most advanced. Protection Plan was also revised, improved, although in the past conform to all applicable regulations. Equip the team members is not possible, they have no right to carry weapons.

Arctic Sea: BEJAIA, Algeria doesn't record arrival

Victor Matveev as a younger sailor in Russian navy
Victor Matveev as Managing director,CEO
Oy Solchart Management AB, Helsinki – Commercial managers

Oy Solchart Ltd, Helsinki – Commercial managers

Victor Matveev
Managing director,CEO

BEJAIA, Algeria arrivals

Arctic Sea arrives at Bejaia Algeria

The Arctic Sea, has reached its destination in Algeria, Interfax news agency reported. The ship is registered in the Maltese port of Valletta.
The Arctic Sea is primarily owned by a Malta-based company, Arctic Sea Ltd. which is owned by Oy White Sea Ltd. According to the Finnish Trade Registry, Victor Matveev (Viktor Matvejev), a Russian citizen living in Finland holds 70 per cent of Oy White Sea Ltd’s shares. The rest are owned by two other Russian men living in Finland. The rest of the ship may well by owned by Solchart Askhangelsk Ltd of Finland

Arctic Sea: underway

picture published upon arrival
picture published upon departure
The Maltese registered vessel Arctic Sea left the Grand Harbour 11 November headed towards its original destination port namely, Algerian port of Bejaia. It was not listed as scheduled to arrive at Bejaia as of 14 November.

Mr Victor Matveev
Director
Solchart

As you know the mv Arctic Sea left Malta on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 November 2009, after the necessary repairs and all surveys and a flag State inspection had been carried out in order to ensure that the ship is in conformity with national and international requirements.

The mv Arctic Sea had entered the port of Valletta on Thursday 29 October 2009, after she had been inspected in international waters off Malta and her safety ascertained by the Civil Protection Department, the Malta Police and the Malta Maritime Authority. The inspection revealed that the ship was not carrying any dangerous cargo or any cargo other than that appearing in the ship’s cargo manifest.

LC Vassallo
Registrar General of
Shipping and Seamen

Arctic Sea: Crewmembers ruled victims

Arctic Sea would proceed to its original destination to fulfill her obligations to her partners and deliver the overdue timber. A new crew of 14 sailors flew from Russia to Malta on 3 November to replace the captain and three sailors who had remained on the vessel.

Russia's special investigations committee announced 30 October that all 14 crewmembers of the Arctic Sea had been formally recognized as victims of a pirate attack.

Arctic Sea: Investigators and 11 Navy crew aboard

At the moment [26 October] there are four crew members on board The Arctic Sea with investigators and eleven sailors from the Russian Guided Missile warship "Ladny" - Krivak I Class Frigate. The vessel was flying the Maltese flag and had 15 Russian crew members on board when it departed from the Finnish port of Jacobstad on the 22nd of July.

Arctic Sea: Algeria refuses port call

Algeria had refused to let the Arctic Sea pass into its territorial waters.
"The cargo being carried by the Arctic Sea was destined for an Algerian customer, and we offered to tug the vessel to the Algerian port of Bejaia to hand the ship over to its owner and deliver the cargo to its recipient," the Investigative Committee at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said, adding that no reasons had been given for the refusal.
Finnish sources found the Arctic Sea again on the list of arrivals at the Port of Bejaïa in Algeria for 4 October, but then deleted from the list.

"The Arctic Sea vessel escorted by a tugboat and the Ladny patrol ship is currently anchored off Gibraltar in the Mediterranean."

Arctic Sea: big lumber company, small shipment

Stora Enso owns 250 cubic meters of sawn timber with a value of about Eur 50,000 out of the total 6,700 cubic meters of timber cargo with a value of Eur 1,3 million on board the Arctic Sea,
Stora Enso and UPM sold the goods, 1,750 and 250 cubic meters respectively, to their joint venture, distribution company RETS, Nordlund said. RETS had to deliver the goods to the port of destination (Bejaia, Algeria).

The original destination of the Arctic Sea was Algeria. The ship is being towed by the Russian Navy.
“I am surprised that the ship wasn’t refuelled in Cape Verde. Fuel is available in all harbours. Perhaps the navy wants to keep the ship in its own hands.”

The Finnish owners of the vessel’s cargo said they were simply shipping redwood for windows and doors in Algeria.

“We sold the timber to three customers in Algeria.” He declined to give the customers’ names.

The police have not questioned the company about the ship and its freight. Rets Timber, a joint venture between Europe’s largest papermaker, Stora Enso Oyj, and UPM-Kymmene Oyj, Kari Naumanen, chief executive officer at Helsinki-based Rets. Most of the lumber came from other companies. here