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: Exciting expense account

Victor Matveev, CEO of the presumptive manager of the Arctic Sea, has posted an exciting expense account for this adventure.

Item: " Travelling costs and expenses of Mr. Nikolay Chemakin and Mr. Nikolay Karpenkov to Las Palmas, following request from representatives of the State Party, amounting to €3,672;"
...When the vessel was 'found,'
"Solchart Archangelsk director and shareholder Nikolai Karpenkov was making preparations in his office to send a new crew to the ship. However, he was still waiting for the go-ahead from the Russian Navy.

So why didn’t Karpenkov insist that the ship should have proceeded to the nearest port after the hijacking that took place in Swedish waters.
“The captain said that the ship was not damaged. We did not suspect that the hijackers were still on board.”

...When suspicions about the cargo arose:
"There couldn't have been hidden weapons on board by definition," says Nikolai Chemakin, the ship's technical superintendent, pointing to a picture hanging on the wall of the Arctic Sea loaded with timber. "Look, there is nowhere to hide such things."

Arctic Sea: It is all about Photographs

cargo offloaded to this tanker, Iman



Anton Surikov, a Russian security expert and former military intelligence officer, advances the theory that smugglers, with the backing of elements in Russia's security services, may have loaded ammunition and anti-tank missiles bound for Hizbollah in Lebanon, and four Kh-55 cruise missiles to be fitted to Sukhoi-24 bombers for Iran, on to the ship as it underwent repairs in Kaliningrad.

Mr Surikov says he believes that when the the ship was boarded in the dead of night on July 24 off Sweden, the attackers found the weapons cache, photographed it as evidence and left.

His scenario fits with initial reports conveyed by police in Sweden that the crew reported being attacked by about 10 men posing as Swedish policemen who searched the ship and departed in an inflatable dinghy. The photos were then shown, thinks Mr Surikov, to the UK and US security services - which arranged a second incursion as the Arctic Sea disappeared on August 1.


Nikolai Chemakin, the Arctic Sea's technical superintendent in Arkhangelsk has just returned from a trip to the Canary Islands, where Russian prosecutors investigating the ship refused to let him on board. "Something changed when he got there and we don't know why," says Captain Ivan Boyko, deputy head of Solchart Arkhangelsk, an offshoot of the Russian-controlled Finnish company that operates the Arctic Sea,. "I'm not God so I don't know what happened but I'm sure our men could not have been involved in shipping weapons." Solchart sent a Russian from Arkhangelsk to investigate the Russians from Arkhangelsk onboard.

Arctic Sea: a floating object?

Viktor Matveyev, Solchart Finland, the reputed manager of the Arctic Sea claims on its website that this statement comes from Las Palmas. Gran Canaria:

The free translation of the Port Captain decision.

1) vessel has Russian Military armed on board

2) Vessel is custody by the Russian Army units out of Spanish
territorial waters, its mean that vessel has been taken by this authority as
the Malta state does not recover their protection.

3) Due to the previous 2nd paragraph, the flag state control ( Malta) must foce the vessel to comply with the article 94 (bargain of unit nations) agreed in Montego Bay Dec. 10th 1.982. and specially in what respect to the security of the persons on board, navigation and see waters medium. Due to that and taking in consideration that vessel has not flag state and did not comply with other mentioned requisites, we do not consider to Artic Sea like a merchant vessel but like a floating object taken by the foreign naval army.

In view of that, the Port Captain does not authorize the navigation of
Arctic Sea in Spanish sea waters.

Sounds like Viktor Matveyev is preparing his defense against Finnish/Baltic Powers charges

Arctic Sea: nature of the cargo was the key

Las Palmas harbour master, under instruction from the Spanish government, rejected the request," of the Arctic Sea and its tug to dock. A Spanish diplomat admitted that the nature of the cargo was the key question in talks between Spain and Russia. "The ship's cargo is the most important aspect of the negotiations. It is not just about bureaucratic procedures involving the entrance of a ship into Spanish waters," the diplomat said.

Arctic Sea: evidence removed by Russians

Maltese statement: With reference to claims in the press that the ship was due to be handed over to the Maltese Authorities, Malta as the flag State of the ship, has always maintained that it has no right to assume the ownership of the ship since it is not the rightful owner of the ship and therefore the ship should be handed over to the shipowner as the rightful owner of the ship.

Russian statement via Indian press:On Sep. 17 evidence from the Arctic Sea ship was transshipped onto Russian frigate Ladny , as mystery still surrounded the identity of its cargo one month after it was recovered from alleged pirates.

Russian investigators said evidence that showed the vessel was prey to piracy, including arms and masks, was now on its way to Russia for use in a trial against the suspected hijackers.

"The evidence will be delivered to a Russian port, where the warship Ladny and its escorting vessels will dock," the investigative committee said in a statement posted on its website.

"It includes ammunition used by the suspected pirates to capture the ship and the speedboat from which they boarded it.

The boat was camouflaged on board the Arctic Sea under a wood frame and canvass," it said.

Arctic Sea: no handover of the ship

Spanish authorities gave permission for the Arctic Sea, the Ladny frigate, which freed the cargo vessel from hijackers, and a Russian tug boat to call at Las Palmas on Sep 15, but cancelled the decision on Sep. 16 without giving any explanation after Malta refused to take part in the handover of the ship, at the Spanish port.

Arctic Sea: Permission to dock slow in coming

A Spanish ministry spokesman denied that Madrid had refused a formal request from Russia to allow the ship to enter the Canary Islands port. "It is not the case that the request from Russian authorities has been rejected. However, no decision has been taken to authorise the Arctic Sea to enter Spanish waters," the spokesman said, as reported on Sep.17.

Arctic Sea: no dark spots in this story

"The government of Malta and the ship's owner, Arctic Sea LTD Malta, have been notified that the transfer of the Arctic Sea will take place from September 17 through September 18 in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain's Canary Islands with the participation of Spanish officials," ..."This is why we need to examine the vessel — so that there are no dark spots in this story." said federal Investigative Committee Chief Alexander Bastrykin earlier.

Arctic Sea on the move with 'warship'

The Russian embassy in Madrid had requested and received permission for the Arctic Sea, which is being towed by a tug under the escort of a warship, to call at the port of Las Palmas, adding that the convoy was 14 miles off the coast and should arrive closer to evening, a Spanish marine spokesperson said.

Arctic Sea in Las Palmas

Solchart's chief executive Viktor Matveyev said Solchart's representative, currently in Las Palmas, had tried to board the Arctic Sea on the morning of Sep. 10 but Russian soldiers had stopped him.
The Russian prosecutor's office told Russian news agency Interfax that the ship would be handed over to Maltese authorities in Las Palmas, in Spain's Canary Islands, once the investigation was completed.