The cargo ship "Arctic Sea" disappeared, would reach the port of Bejaia

MOSCOW- Russian President, Dimitri Medvedev, has appointed Wednesday the defence minister, Anatoly Serdioukov, to make any effort to find the Russian “Arctic Sea” cargo ship and its crew who disappeared in July in the Atlantic, said a spokesman Kremlin.

•     Mr Medvedev ordered the Defence Ministry to "take all necessary measures to trace and, if necessary, to release" the ship “Arctic Sea,” said the spokesman quoted by Russian agencies.
  
      In addition to patrols by boats, radar equipment from Russia, including in space, are now participating in the research, said on his side a spokesman for the Department of Defence, quoted by the Interfax agency.
  
      The Arctic Sea, a Russian freighter crew but flying the Maltese flag, has been missing since late July in the Atlantic off Portugal.
  
      It could now be in the hands of pirates, had said Tuesday the British coast guard who had talked at the end of July to the crew of the cargo.
  
      If this information is confirmed, it would be the first time that pirates operate in European waters, said the Maritime Agency and Coast Guard of the United Kingdom (MCA).
  
      Coast Guard had met with the crew of the Arctic Sea, which carries 6700 cubic meters of wood and had taken on 29 July the Strait of Dover in the English Channel, to join the Algerian port of Bejaia.
  
      A spokesman for the MCA, Mark Clark, said that the ship was in the hands of pirates when sailing in British waters.
  
      The Arctic Sea would reach on August 4 Bejaia. According to a spokesman for the operator of the vessel, the company Solchart Arkhangelsk, the ship sent his last message on August 1st, according to the RIA Novosti agency.
      
      
  Ennaharonline/ M. O.