MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Arctic Sea cargo vessel, recently freed from hijackers by a Russian missile frigate, is heading to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk for an investigation, the Russian defense minister said on Thursday.
Part of the crew of the Arctic Sea and a group of suspected hijackers arrived in Moscow on Thursday on board two Il-76 Candid military planes.
"Four crewmembers, including the captain...remain on duty on board [the Arctic Sea]. The ship is being towed to Novorosiisk for further investigation," Anatoly Serdyukov said.
The Maltese-flagged vessel, which had been missing in the Atlantic for more than two weeks, was found off Cape Verde on Monday with 15 Russian crewmembers and eight suspected hijackers on board. The vessel was freed by the Russian Ladny missile frigate without a single shot fired.
An investigation into the suspected hijacking has started on board the Ladny frigate and will resume in Russia.
According to the preliminary reports, there are four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians among the hijackers.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has said Moscow will provide information about the detained captors of the Arctic Sea to the states whose citizens were among the hijackers, after their citizenship is officially established.
