The General Investigative Office of the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor-General’s office of the Russian Federation continues to investigate a criminal case concerning the 24 July, 2009 hijacking of the vessel Arctic Sea, opened for signs of crime under part 3, article 227 of the Criminal Code and paragraph "a", part 3, article 126 of the Criminal Code (piracy and kidnapping, committed with violence and weapons by an organized group).
To date, investigators and criminologists of the General Investigative Office have examined the vessel. No other cargo was found, except for timber declared for shipment. Real evidence were taken from the ship, including samples of timber, the vessel carried, as well as a boat, on which the accused of piracy had approached the Arctic Sea. These evidence will be studied.
In addition, the investigatory experiments have been carried out to prove the complicity of the accused in the hijacking of the vessel. Despite the fact that by a court decision thevessel Arctic Sea is under arrest, according to current Russian criminal procedural law, it can be transferred to its owner. The arrest of the vessel restricts only the transfer of the ship to the third parties, but actions of the ship owner are not limited.
At present, the question of transfer the Arctic Sea to its owner is being discussed. At the moment the ship Arctic Sea, accompanied by the tugboat and a patrol vessel "Ladniy" is anchored in the Mediterranean Sea near Gibraltar. The captain and three crew members are on board, there are on investigators on board.
Criminal investigation continues.
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