Hijackers Threatened to Scuttle Russian Freighter

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 19, 2009 12:00 PM CDT

(Newser) – The hijackers of the Russian-crewed freighter Arctic Sea planned to destroy it if their ransom demand was not met, Reuters reports. “The crew members have already confirmed that the captors demanded a ransom and threatened to blow up the vessel,” says a Russian defense official. There was no comment on speculation that the ship—found Monday by Russia’s navy—was carrying something more sinister than lumber.

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$Mikhail Voitenko, whose company Sovfracht specializes in anti-piracy security consulting, said the hijacking was beyond the means of ordinary pirates.$

Mikhail Voitenko, whose company Sovfracht specializes in anti-piracy security consulting, said the hijacking was beyond the means of ordinary pirates. (AP Photo)

The Arctic Sea. (AP Photo)

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The Arctic Sea was carrying something, not timber and not from Finland, that necessitated some major work on the ship. - Yulia Latynina, Russian opposition journalist

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