I first encountered the mystery of the MV Arctic Sea in the summer of 2009.

I was speaking with a maritime freight specialist on a transatlantic flight when reports began to emerge of a Russian cargo vessel that had seemingly vanished while carrying a shipment of timber from Finland to Algeria. At the time, it sounded like an unusual maritime incident. It would soon become something far stranger.

Nearly seventeen years later, a Cyprus court may be about to reopen the story.

The court is considering an appeal against the extradition to Russia of Alexey Kratzgor, also known as Alex Brodsky, a suspect linked to the ship’s alleged hijacking. To most people, this is an aging piracy case. To those who followed the affair closely, it may represent the last realistic opportunity to revisit one of the most consequential and least understood geopolitical mysteries involving Russia, Israel and Iran — and perhaps to obtain something the public has never had: testimony under oath from a figure connected to the affair.

The official explanation has always been simple.

The Arctic Sea was allegedly hijacked by a group of criminals. Russia eventually recovered the vessel. The crew was freed. The case was solved.

Yet from the beginning, the facts never seemed to fit the narrative.

The ship disappeared while crossing some of the world’s most heavily monitored maritime corridors. For nearly two weeks, authorities could not establish its location. Public statements were contradictory. Intelligence services across Europe followed developments closely.

Then came the response.

Russia launched a secret naval and air operation near Cape Verde,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)