Arctic Sea mystery deepens after arrests

Whatever it was if there was anything extra it couldn't have been that big. Also it makes no sense that they'd load weapons on board and then take the risk of being inspected by Finnish customs.

Russia seizes Norwegian yacht: border guards

uk.news.yahoo.com...

could be totally unrelated but strange none the less

reply to post by PsykoOps

Apparently nobody does, so I will ask it.

Could it be that whatever was on that ship was put there in Finland?
If yes, what could it be?

Well if it was something small enough to hide in the timber then maybe. Otherwise they would've had to have the entire dock crew in on it and the customs and they would've had to smuggle it into Finland to begin with.

reply to post by PsykoOps

And do you have any idea of what it could be? Is there anything that could be smuggled out of Finland "interesting" enough for something like this operation?

Small arms perhaps? We don't have a huge drug markets here and we don't do cruise missiles or nukes either. Something like rpg's or grenade launchers maybe? The ship was heading for Algeria so no idea what we could be sending there except timber

Here's the best write up of the craziness I've read. Whether it's accurate or not, I have no idea, but it would make a good Tom Clancy novel:

Never ask the wolves to help you against the dogs...

According to Filin, the contraband aboard the Arctic Sea was masked by timber loaded in Finland, and the ship's destination was Algeria, where representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were waiting to take delivery. Filin wrote: "Russian specialists would arrive in Iran within the near future, who would prepare the aviation system of Iranian Su-24 aircraft to use the X-55 in combat conditions and train representatives of the Iranian armed forces in the operational use of the system." The reason for the transfer of biochemical material to Iran, along with modified warheads and missiles, is to give Iran a counterstrike potential in the event of an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear weapons facilities.

In this way Russia strengthens Iran while weakening the position of Israel and the United States. It goes without saying that Moscow envisions the destabilization of the Middle East and the disruption of its main centers of oil production and shipping. Should Iran unleash biochemical warheads against Israel, there would be a further escalation of violence with the result that oil prices would reach -- according to Filin -- $200-$300 per barrell. The consequences, of course, would be devastating for the oil-dependent Western economies, which are already suffering from widespread financial troubles.

On the Russian side, however, high oil prices would empower the Russian state while stabilizing the Iranian clerical regime under a defiant nationalist banner. Moscow also envisions the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a massive mobilization of terrorists, and a fresh violence in Iraq. According to Filin, "Upon learning of the Arctic Sea and its cargo, a major Western state that favors a strategic partnership with Ukraine, was prepared to intercept the ship. But fearing this would cause a serious international scandal that would disrupt the 'reboot' of its relations with the Putin regime, the [aforesaid] state decided to act informally, which it did."

In other words, the pirates that siezed the Arctic Sea off the coast of Sweden were American special forces (disguised as Swedish police). This embarrassing episode, according to Filin, enraged the Kremlin which subsequently lashed out at the pro-American regime in Ukraine. For reasons unstated by Filin, the Kremlin believes that Ukraine was responsible for alerting the Americans about the Arctic Sea and its cargo. Consequently, Russian President Medvedev wrote a scathing open letter to Ukrainian President Yuschenko, calling his policies "deliberately anti-Russian." This resulted in heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Some things I remembered today about this case and about what is said.

1. The destination was Algeria, but besides being an Arab League member and a Muslim country, Algeria is not particularly friendly with Iran, although they have been making more and more bilateral agreements they are far for "accomplices".

2. Kaliningrad is not in Russia itself, how easy would it be to transport something from Russia proper to Kaliningrad to then smuggle on the ship that was first to Finland? Unless it was something right out from a Russian military base.

3. Wouldn't that area be a perfect target for spy satellites to keep a watch?