Arctic Sea: now L.T.W. Express, Gustavia I., Anguilla

L.T.W. Express, ex-Shelley Express, Gustavia I., Anguilla

L.T.W.EXPRESS 

(Ship name as reported by AIS: L.T.W. EXPRESS)

 [Leading the way, LLC .... UAE leading the way in energy transition ??]

General Cargo  General Cargo

IMO:  8912792

MMSI: 376859000

Type: GENERAL CARGO

Gross Tonnage: 3988

Summer DWT: 4706 t

Build: 1991

Flag: SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES

ex-names

Vessel Name: SHELLEY EXPRESS

Flag: PA

Last Reported: 2015-05-07 09:40:00

Vessel Name: ARCTIC SEA

Flag: BB

Last Reported: 2011-11-03 15:26:00

Vessel Name: ARCTIC SEA

Flag: MT

Last Reported: 2010-05-12 08:55:00

Vessel Name: JOGAILA

Last Reported: 2005-03-01

Vessel Name: TORM SENEGAL

Last Reported: 2000-05-01

Vessel Name: ALRAI

Last Reported: 1998-12-01

Vessel Name: ZIM VENEZUELA

Last Reported: 1998-05-01

Vessel Name: OKHOTSKOE

Last Reported: 1996-01-01

read, also, see

[March 14, 2015 The AIS satellite-tracking device removed and transmitting? ]:

Shelley Express ex-Arctic Sea

Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 13 lifted a five-year ban on delivery of the S-300 air defense missile system. It would significantly bolster the Islamic republic's military capability by providing a strong deterrent against any air attack.   The White House said Secretary of State John Kerry had raised concerns over the move in a conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

]March 3 2014 Shelley Express at Las Palmas]

Shelley Express still at Las Palmas

Shelley Express, ex Arctic Sea   It's ba-ack

In August 2009, the 'hijacked' Arctic Sea was off Las Palmas.   Three Russian Il-76 transport planes (each capable of carrying 44 tons of cargo) were used to bring in the crew and maybe Surface-to-Air S-300 missiles destined for Iran by the Russian industrial complex. Perhaps after the urging of interested nations, the Moscow government intervened with naval forces, 'found' the vessel and sentenced the woeful hijackers,  a Latvian and an Estonian, as well as three others described as stateless.   This is a brief statement of an intriguing mystery.   more   also and read

Owner Pmac Maritime, P.O.# 60011, Sharjah UAE >>>Petrofac International Ltd.[FTSE 100] ???   {April 2013)

Arctic Sea: those two Ilyushin-76 cargo planes

A COURT in Russia's far northern region of Arkhangelsk is hearing testimony from six men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea, a cargo ship, in 2009, the bizarre disappearance of which prompted international speculation about a secret Russian arms sale to the Middle East gone awry. see
Alexei Bartenev, the brother of one of the defendants, says the case remains a mystery. Why Russia flew the eight alleged hijackers and some of the crew - 16 people in all - were flown from Canary Islands to Russia on two large Ilyushin-76 cargo planes capable of carrying 40 tons each, if not also to carry weapons or other illicit cargo. "All I can say is that it's very suspicious."
Economist
earlier
and then

Arctic Sea: hiding the S300 Missiles Aboard

Naval S300
A reporter has visited a ship similar to the Finnish-built Arctic Sea, to decide if it could have carried Russian S300 missiles destined for Iran: "The only feasible place is the ballast tanks, so I squeezed through a manhole and climbed into one of them to take a look.

Access to all these dark, damp areas is through an oval hole about 80cm (31 inches) at its widest.

The space beneath is fairly generous but manoeuvring a long, thick missile in there would be impossible."

Actually, the S300 missile is 7 meters long in its fiberglass launcher/container (22.90 ft), and .76 m (2.49 ft) span. The Arctic Sea is 105.1 meters in length. How the ballast tanks are now configured in the phantom ship is unknown. Further, the fiberglass container is not difficult to duplicate and the missile is comprised of smaller components.

"Military experts do not rule out the possibility of on-site S-300 assembly from components allegedly supplied to Iran. "

In January 2008, "Esmaeil Kosari, deputy chairman of the parliamentary commission on national security and foreign policy, told Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency Sunday that Russia was already sending components for its formidable S-300PMU-1 system -- NATO designation SA-20 Gargoyle -- to the Islamic republic."

In May, 2009, "Russia's customs service said Thursday it uncovered a ring of active and retired military officers suspected of involvement in stealing millions of dollars worth of missile components and smuggling them out of Russia.

The Federal Customs Service said it has detained a dozen suspects and confiscated about 22 tons of missile components intended for smuggling.

It said that the criminal ring had smuggled parts of S-75, S-125, S-200 and S-300 air defense missile systems.

The customs agency said that the ring included Russian military officers on active duty along with some retirees and citizens of Belarus and Ukraine. It said the suspects were believed to work with senior officers of the military's air defense forces stationed in Russia's northwest, but would not give any names.
The latest capture of illegal weapons smuggling was reportedly only a part of a larger operation which has been going on for some time. Previously, Russian and other European customs had thwarted attempts to smuggle missile components for Latvia and "an unspecified Asian country", the Russian customs said."

The various methods the Russians are suspected of using to remove the missiles from the Arctic Sea in the Canaries would be applicable to oncarriage to Iran. Perhaps the missiles were transshipped by air in their containers or component parts as from Gran Canaria. Perhaps they were transshipped at sea as the 'evidence' was to a tanker (not a cargo vessel), the Iman. Tankers are the stuff of Iran's seaborne commerce.

Arctic Sea located 16 nautical miles off Las Palmas

A Maltese team composed of police officers and officials from the Malta Maritime Authority boarded the Arctic Sea Sep. 11 to carry out a maritime safety investigation into the ship in parallel with a law enforcement one, the MMA said.

The MMA said that an agreement was reached between the Russian and Maltese authorities for a Maltese team to join the Russian investigative team who boarded the Arctic Sea on Sep 07.

The ship is currently under the control of the Russian authorities and is located 16 nautical miles off Las Palmas.

The Maltese flagged ship is owned by a Finnish company whose inspectors were yesterday stopped by Russian soldiers from boarding the ship.

Three Russian Il-76 transport plans (each capable of carrying 44 tons of cargo) were used to bring in the crew and suspected hijackers (or two or eight?).

Israel's deputy prime minister confirmed on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had visited Russia but declined to elaborate on the affair, which has triggered media accusations of official disinformation.

"He was in Russia. It created some controversy about the way it was published in Israel," Dan Meridor told Reuters in Geneva on the sidelines of a conference about global issues hosted by Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"The content was not discussed in public. Some things are better discussed (privately)," added Meridor, who is also Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy.

Arctic Sea cargo flown back to Russia?

To fly the alleged pirates and the crew back to Moscow — a group of only 19 men — Russia dispatched two enormous military cargo planes. "The versions we are getting from the Russian government do not fit into any logical parameters, and I don't think that will change," commentator Latynina says. "When people lie, they tend to lie consistently."

The group boarded the plane at Amilcar Cabral airport, an Il-76, in widespread use for the delivery of outsized or very heavy cargo.