25.09.2009
Source:
The cargo ship Arctic Sea and escorting it RNS Ladny most likely left Canaries region, said Las Palmas port authorities representative to RIA Novosti on Thursday.
"The cargo vessel and naval ship disappeared from our radars displaying radius about 25-30 admiralty miles", specified the source.
The
Arctic Sea cargo ship with 15-man Russian crew aboard sailing from Finland to Algeria after its mysterious disappearance late July was detected in Atlantic Ocean near African island country Cabo Verde on August 16. According to investigation,
Arctic Sea was hijacked by eight citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Russia. The bloodless crew release operation was conducted by Black Sea Fleet mariners.
Arctic Sea and
Ladny had been standing off Canaries for over two weeks waiting for entry to Las Palmas port for transfer the cargo vessel to authorities of Malta which was the flag-state and to the owner of the ship.
On Sept 7 the group of investigators from Investigating Committee at the RF Public Prosecutor's Office (ICP), arrived aboard by police boat of Las Palmas. The investigators left the ship after the work had been finished on Sept 19.
Vladimir Markin, the ICP representative arrived at Las Palmas to hand over the ship to the owner on Sept 16. But next day Maltese authorities officially refused to participate in the vessel transfer.
On Friday, Sept 18, Las Palmas port authorities negatived a request of
Arctic Sea to enter the port and sent official text of decision to the consignee company on Tuesday.
The message, which extracts were published on official website of the shipowner company
Solchart, explained that the refusal was motivated by the facts of armed people aboard the ship, absence of ship's flag and seizure of the vessel standing in the international waters by foreign naval force.
"Taking into account that the vessel has no state flag and does not meet other requirements specified, we consider
Artic Sea not as the merchant ship but as a float object controlled by foreign Navy", says the shipowner's website.
For reasons given, the harbor captain prohibited navigation of
Artic Sea in Spanish territorial waters.
According to the port administration representative, this decision is based on provisions of Spanish legislation and maritime law.
"In such situation the matter of vessel's entry should be decided at the level of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But as far as I know, Russian party informed Spanish MFA last week that there is no necessity for vessel to enter the port", said the source.
