Evidence from Arctic Sea vessel to be delivered next month
16:02 21/09/2009 MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy's Iman tanker will deliver material evidence from the Arctic Sea vessel to the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in October, a high-ranking military official said on Monday.
Investigations are continuing into the alleged hijacking of the Maltese-flagged cargo ship in July.
"The arrival of the warship in the port of Novorossiisk is scheduled for mid-October," the source told RIA Novosti.
The ship has been the focus of media speculation on a covert state-backed arms trafficking operation, with some reports saying Russia attempted to deliver missiles for S-300 air defense systems to Iran or Syria. The claims have been denied by the government.
A spokesman for the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said on Saturday that investigators searched the ship and did not find any 'compromising' cargo on board.
The Russian-crewed vessel, officially carrying lumber from Russia to Algeria, was reportedly boarded by a group of eight men on July 24. Officials said it had 'disappeared' in the Atlantic, but later said its movements had been constantly monitored. It was freed off Cape Verde on August 16 by a Russian warship.
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