Russian arms ship puts into St Petersburg, then falls beneath radar enroute

ONCE bound for Syria with helicopter gunships under a Russian naval escort and being followed by the Norwegian Navy on its way south from Murmansk, the 264-TEU Alaed has put into St Petersburg, where it was to dock, reports the Novosti news agency.

The owner Femco said the route was unchanged and it was headed to St Petersburg. But then the Alaed disappeared from online maps of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking maritime traffic worldwide, said Novosti. The vessel was said to have switched off its AIS on and has been invisible.

A Femco spokesman denied the crew has ever switched off its AIS signal. "Certain weather conditions can sometimes jam the signal, though it is extremely rare," he said.

When flying the Curacao flag, the geared vessel had to return to Murmansk when British insurers withdrew cover as it rounded the coast of Scotland. Femco declined to comment on the nature of the cargo on board.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Alaed was carrying overhauled disassembled helicopters to Syria, not gunships, as claimed by western media, which said the ship was carrying armaments and ammunition to Syria.

The helicopters became the centre of a diplomatic row in June, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claiming Russia was supplying weapons that would be used against rebels.

Femco said in late June the Alaed, which then flew the Russian flag "to protect its interests, the security of the ship and its crew, all of whom are Russian citizens".