The recovered cargo ship Arctic Sea Photo Credit: Solchart Group

RIGA — Russia has detained eight people including nationals from Latvia, Estonia and Russia in connection to the July 24 hijacking of the cargo ship Arctic Sea.

The Finnish-owned ship, which disappeared after passing through British waters late last month, was located on Aug. 17 off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean. Speculation about the ship’s mysterious disappearance had baffled maritime authorities, with rumors of piracy, mafia involvement and a commercial dispute surfacing.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said an investigation was currently under way aboard the Russian warship Ladny, where the Arctic Sea’s 15-strong crew members and the suspected pirates were being questioned. The suspects include four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians.

According to the ship’s owners the Arctic Sea was attacked in Swedish waters on July 24, when it was reportedly boarded by up to 10 armed men who threatened crew with guns and forced them to sail south. The intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours. A multinational investigation was launched following unconfirmed reports of a ransom demand. Carrying timber reportedly worth $1.8m (€1.2m), the 4,000-ton Arctic Sea had sailed from Finland, on route to the Algerian port of Bejaia, where it was scheduled to dock on Aug. 4.

The ship’s Russian crew are said to be healthy and unharmed. The incident is the second act of piracy to involve Baltic Sea ships in a matter of weeks.

On Aug. 14 five sailors, kidnapped in Nigeria from the Lithuanian-flagged ship Saturnas, were freed by their captors following a refusal by the Lithuanian government to pay the ransom demand. The ship, which is owned by the Limarko Shipping Company, was attacked on Aug. 3. on the Escravos River Road off the coast of Nigeria.