Missing cargo ship found, crew alive

ASTRAKHAN, Russia, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The crew of the missing Russian cargo ship Arctic Sea has been found and taken aboard a warship, Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Monday.

The Arctic Sea was found Monday afternoon 300 miles off the Cape Verde and its crew, found alive, was taken aboard the Russian Navy frigate Ladny, Serdyukov told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

The defense minister indicated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was informed an investigation had been launched "to identify the circumstances behind the vessel's disappearance and its failure to make radio contact," the news service said.

Serdyukov said the defense ministry would soon release more details about the Arctic Sea, a Maltese-flagged cargo ship that left Finland with a cargo of timber July 22 and had been out of radio contact since July 28.

Interpol had reported earlier that the ship had been briefly hijacked by masked men in Swedish waters, but that after 12 hours the pirates left the ship and it resumed its voyage, RIA Novosti said.