Hijackers Threatened to Scuttle Russian Freighter

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
Hijackers Threatened to Scuttle Russian Freighter
Mikhail Voitenko, whose company Sovfracht specializes in anti-piracy security consulting, said the hijacking was beyond the means of ordinary pirates.   (AP Photo)

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. (More Arctic Sea stories.)

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