Malta says hijacked ship never disappeared

VALLETTA (Reuters) - The Malta Maritime Authority said Tuesday a hijacked merchant ship recaptured by the Russian navy had 'never really disappeared'.

The ship Finnish owned and Russian operated vessel, the Arctic Sea, sailed under the Maltese flag. Maltese authorities said a Maritime Security Committee that grouped representatives of Sweden, Finland and Malta had continued to closely monitor developments of the incident involving the ship.

"The committee would like to clarify that the movements of the Arctic Sea were always known for several days, notwithstanding reports that the ship had disappeared," the Maltese Maritime Authority said.

"There was consensus amongst the investigating authorities of Finland, Malta and Sweden not to disclose any sensitive information in order not to jeopardize the life and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship."

Russia said earlier Tuesday that eight people from Latvia, Estonia and Russia had been arrested for hijacking the merchant ship and were being questioned aboard a Russian naval vessel.

The apparent disappearance of the cargo ship and its 15-man Russian crew aroused suspicions of piracy.

The vessel left European waters and failed to deliver its cargo of timber to Algeria in early August. Monday, Russia's navy said it had found the vessel in the Atlantic off Cape Verde.

The hijackers were being questioned onboard the Russian anti-submarine ship Ladny, Interfax news agency reported.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told reporters: "This was an act of piracy."

(Reporting by Christopher Scicluna; Editing by Jon Hemming)