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."
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Arctic Sea: Romanova-Lebedeva reappears

A lawyer working on the case of the hijacked ship Arctic Sea has been found after going missing for several days. Yelena Romanova-Lebedeva's disappearance was reported to police after she was not seen nor heard from since leaving her Moscow office on December 9.

On December 13, Natalya Volkova, also a lawyer,said Romanova-Lebedeva had been away for professional reasons and had not been kidnapped."Yelena Romanova-Lebedeva is in Moscow. Her absence was connected to her professional activities," Volkova said.

The Arctic Sea last used its AIS transponder entering Setubal, Portugal.

Arctic Sea: Russian naval personnel disembarked

The Arctic Sea entered the port of Valletta the evening of 29 October and has been allocated a berth at Boiler Wharf. The ship was delivered back to its owners outside Maltese territorial waters in the afternoon.

The ship arrived, 28 October at 0700 hours, outside territorial waters under the tow of a Russian naval tug. The ship was handed over 29 October at 1330 hours by the Russian authorities to the owner. Soon after the tow was transferred from the Russian naval tug to the commercial tug boat Mari, operated by Tug Malta, and the Russian naval personnel disembarked from the ship.

Despite repeated promises to take it into port, the Russian Navy had held the Arctic Sea in international waters since seizing it from suspected pirates on August 17 off Cape Verde near West Africa, 2,500 miles (4,000km) off course.

The ship had been under guard by two Russian warships since then. The captain and three crew members, who are all Russian, had been on board throughout the voyage. It is unclear whether they will be free to return home to the Russian port of Archangel or be taken to Moscow for questioning.

The Moscow Basmanny District Court has extended the arrest of the suspected assailants of the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea until 18 February at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General Office’s Investigation Committee. “The judge extended custody of Andrei Lunev and Vitaly Lepin for three months and 29 days, until 18 February,” said Moscow City Court press secretary Anna Usachyova on16 October. A similar decision was made for another six suspects earlier.

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: Jon Jin 2: Chendin-2: Chon Ji 2

sister vessel to North Korean bulker
The Russian Investigative Committee website shows the Arctic Sea with markings for the North Korean vessel Jon Jin 2. Previously reported from Russian sources as Chendin-2 and Chon Ji 2.

>The ministry said that, when the ship was intercepted, its captain claimed it was the North Korean vessel Chendin-2, and was headed from Havana to Sierra Leone with a cargo of palm wood."

Ex Names: ex-Ingenious 91 C.FILYOS - 95 VERILY - 04 JON JIN 2
Notes: B-26 type.
Sister/Similar Ships: Sisters: DEVIGLORYI [8108705] (Pa) ex-Carrianna Primrose; LAURADA (Ma) ex-Carrianna Peony


IMO Number: 8018912 Flag: Democratic People`s Republic of Korea Builder:Country: Britain and British Dependencies Company: A & PYear: 1982 Type: Bulk carrier Sequence: MC4MFN Hull Form: H1 Tonnage:Gross Tonnage: 15,384 tons Deadweight: 26,450 tonnes Dimensions: 181.29×22.86×10.38m (594.78×75.00×34.06ft) Speed: 14.5kt Machinery:Screw Type: Single Screw Engine Type: Motor vessel Company: Sulzer Ex Names: ex-Ingenious Notes: B-26 type.Sister/Similar Ships: Sisters: DEVIGLORYI [8108705] (Pa) ex-Carrianna Primrose; LAURADA (Ma) ex-Carrianna Peony

Arctic Sea: the return of Jon Jin 2

Both the name and an identification number painted on the Arctic Sea's stern belong to a North Korean bulk carrier that was docked in Angola at the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, but it offered no further explanation.
Jon Jin 2
Name of ship : JON JIN 2
IMO number : 8018912
Call Sign : HMBI
Gross tonnage : 15384
Type of ship : Bulk Carrier
Year of build : 1982
Flag : Korea Democratic Republic

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."