Officials knew of ship’s location

It was the first official confirmation that the ship had been attacked, after weeks of rumors and clues about why the vessel might have disappeared.

The Maritime Authority in Malta, where the Russian-crewed ship is registered, said in a statement late yesterday: “The movements of the MV Arctic Sea were always known for several days, notwithstanding reports that the ship had ‘disappeared.’ ’’

Authorities in Finland, Malta, and Sweden had agreed “not to disclose any sensitive information in order not to jeopardize the lives and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship,’’ the statement said.

The ship left the Finnish port of Pietarsaari with a load of timber on July 21. More than a week later, Swedish police said they were investigating a report that masked men had raided the ship and beaten the crew near the Swedish island of Gotland before speeding off 12 hours later.

The suspected hijackers - citizens of Estonia, Latvia, and Russia - were arrested without a shot being fired, state news agencies quoted Serdyukov as saying. The ship’s 15 crew members were safe and were taken aboard by the navy for questioning.

The motive for seizing the aging freighter remained unclear. Security and maritime specialists said the Arctic Sea’s mysterious four-week journey pointed to something other than piracy, with some suggesting state involvement or a secret cargo, possibly of nuclear materials.

The armed hijackers had boarded the freighter under the pretext that there was a problem with their inflatable craft, Serdyukov reportedly said. They then forced the crew to change course and turned off the Arctic Sea’s navigation equipment, he said, according to Russian news agencies.

By the time the report of the attack had emerged, the ship had already passed through the English Channel, where it made its last known radio contact on July 28. Signals from the ship’s tracking device were picked up off the French coast late the next day, but that was the last confirmed trace of it until Monday.

The ship’s signal going dead coincided with news of the reported attack.

Specialists and officials across Europe said the saga of the missing 320-foot freighter was perplexing.