Russian ship, lost then found. Pure gold for espionage novels

Reuters via Yahoo ....The limited information from Russian authorities has failed to satisfy skeptics who voiced doubts about whether the piracy actually took place or was a convenient cover story to conceal a possible secret cargo of arms or nuclear material. ....The agencies did not say what ransom was demanded. Nobody answered the phone when Reuters called the ministry's press service to attempt to verify the reports. The Maltese-registered, Russian-crewed vessel and its $1.3 million cargo of timber disappeared from radar screens three weeks ago, prompting speculation ranging from an attack by an organized crime gang to a top-secret spy mission. The Malta Maritime Authority said on Tuesday, without elaborating, that the Arctic Sea had "never really disappeared," a comment which increased speculation that security services might have been involved in the affair. There was no comment on the eight detainees, which Russia had said were citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Russia who on July 24 boarded the ship, forced the crew to change route and turned off its navigation equipment Russian games maybe .