Arctic Sea was not allowed to enter the Spanish port

The Spanish authorities did not give permission for the Arctic Sea cargo ship to enter the port of Las Palmas, RIA Novosti reports with reference to representatives of the port administration.

The General Department of the Merchant Marine of Spain did not officially explain the reason for the refusal. According to representatives of the port administration, the ban may be due to technical problems found on the Arctic Sea and posing a threat to other ships in Las Palmas.

Earlier it was reported that the Arctic Sea received permission to enter the port and should arrive in Las Palmas on Friday at 23.00 Moscow time.

The cargo ship Arctic Sea, sailing under the flag of Malta, left Finland for Algeria in July 2009 with a cargo of timber. The ship with a crew of 15 Russians on board did not arrive at the port of destination at the scheduled time - August 4th. On August 16, the dry cargo ship was discovered by sailors of the Black Sea Fleet near the islands of Cape Verde. It turned out that the Arctic Sea was seized at the end of July by a group of eight people - citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Russia. The pirates were taken into custody and transferred to Russia. Most of the crew members of the cargo ship were also taken home.

After the Arctic Sea was released, a team of UPC investigators arrived on board the ship. Investigative measures on the cargo ship were completed on Wednesday. On Thursday, the ship was supposed to be handed over to the authorities of Malta in the port of Las Palmas, under the flag of which it sailed. However, the authorities of Malta refused to accept the cargo ship.