MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Wives...
to the Mediterranean Sea, being convoyed by Russia"s Ladny frigate.The other 11 crew members and eight suspected hijackers were flown to Moscow in late August to be questioned by the Russian authorities. The sailors have reportedly now returned home to the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk, while the hijackers have been arrested and charged with piracy and kidnapping.
The Arctic Sea has been the focus of media speculation, with some reports saying it was carrying Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran or Syria.
Russian investigators said they had not found any compromising cargo on board.
The ship was originally expected to dock at the port of Las Palmas, the capital of Spain"s Canary Islands, to be handed over to Malta on September 18. However, the Maltese authorities unexpectedly refused to take part in the handover of the ship, and the vessel remained anchored 25 kilometers offshore until September 24.