MOSCOW, August 9 (RIA Novosti) - A cargo...

The dry cargo vessel, the Arctic Sea, was expected to arrive at the Algerian port of Bejaia on August 4.

However, "the vessel has literally disappeared since July 28: there is no communication, and neither the ship-owners nor the relatives [of crewmembers] nor Lloyd"s have any information about its whereabouts," Sovfrakht editor Mikhail Voitenko said.

On July 24, people who claimed to be police stopped the Arctic Sea in the Baltic Sea, tied up the crew and searched the vessel for 12 hours. The Arctic Sea resumed its voyage after they left the ship.

According to media reports, the Arctic Sea, which flies the Maltese flag, had a crew of 13 people as of late March.