Hijacked ship was "continuously tracked"

       The Arctic Sea cargo ship "never disappeared" and was continuously tracked from its hijacking last month until the Russian navy said it had retaken the ship on Monday, the Malta Maritime Authority (MMA) said.
       The ship's disappearance from radar after leaving a Finnish port on July 23 sparked an international search, but the MMA said "investigators always knew of the ship's whereabouts".
       Swedish, Maltese and Finnish maritime authorities decided not to disclose any sensitive information "in order not to jeopardise the life and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship", the MMA said. Russia said on Tuesday it had arrested eight men for hijacking the Arctic Sea after the Russian navy took control of the vessel at an undisclosed location believed to be off the west coast of Africa.
       The official story is the Arctic Sea was sailing from Finland to Algeria with a crew of 15 and a cargo of timber worth 1.16 million (55.8 million baht).