Maritime expert flees Russia in fear of his life
An outspoken Russian journalist who alerted the world to the mysterious disappearance and likely hijacking of the Arctic Sea cargo ship this summer said on Thursday he'd fled Russia in fear of his life.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow 03 September 2009 • 4:41pm
Mikhail Voitenko, a maritime expert, has suggested the ship may have been carrying a secret Kremlin arms shipment for the Middle East. He believes it was not hijacked as the Kremlin contends but was intercepted by Israeli forces in an international incident neither country wants made public.
In a phone interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said he'd flown to Turkey on Wednesday after receiving a menacing call from a "a cold official voice" the previous day.
"I was advised to leave," Mr Voitenko said. "I'm afraid." He refused to say who the caller was but hinted the person was a state official.
Mr Voitenko runs an authoritative online news service for a Moscow-based Russian transport and shipping company. He was the most prominent expert voice during this summer's alleged hijacking of the Arctic Sea. He suggests he played a direct role in resolving the drama himself too.
The Maltese-flagged vessel and its Russian crew hit the headlines after disappearing with its cargo of Algeria-bound timber. The Russian Navy found the ship in mid-August, three weeks after it had allegedly been hijacked by armed men.
The Kremlin has yet to supply a detailed version of events, the crew has refused to say what happened, and the alleged hijackers are in a Moscow jail.
Mr Voitenko thinks he's offended powerful Russian interests. "Very important people got involved in this business. It was half-private, half-state." He and other commentators have speculated the ship was carrying a secret weapons cache bound for Iran or Syria that was intercepted by Israeli intelligence.
Asked if he planned to return to Russia anytime soon, Mr Voitenko replied: "Am I an idiot?"
He added that his employer, the Sovfracht-Sovmortrans shipping group, was considering his future because it was worried he had damaged its business interests in Russia. The company's press service was unavailable for comment.
"I became too popular," Mr Voitenko lamented. "Publicity is one thing. Meddling with someone you don't know is something else."
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