** BREAKING: Finnish police said Saturday demands for an undisclosed ransom have been made for the missing freighter 'Arctic Sea' **

Helsinki - Finnish police said Saturday demands for an undisclosed ransom have been made for the missing freighter 'Arctic Sea', as the search for the ship continued.

'I can confirm there is a question of ransom,' Detective Superintendent Markku Ranta-Aho told the German Press Agency dpa.

The sum was a 'signifant amount of money and not huge,' he added, but declined to offer details of the amount or how the demand have been made to the shopping company Solchart Mangement.

Finnish police were now investigating suspicions of 'aggravated extortion,' he added.

Earlier Saturday Victor Matveev, Director of Solchart Management - which owns the vessel - did not mentioned ransom demands when asked by the dpa.

Source: [link to www.monstersandcritics.com]

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and from our friends @ Al-Jazeera:

[link to english.aljazeera.net]

Ransom demanded for 'mystery' ship

A ransom has been demanded for a cargo ship that went missing off the coast of France two weeks ago.

A Finnish police officer told the AFP news agency on Saturday that a demand had been made in connection with the Arctic Sea, a 4,000 tonne Finnish-owned cargo ship.

Detective chief superintendent Jan Nyholm said: "Yes, it is true that there has been a demand for ransom, which is money.

"The demand has been made to the company which owns the ship, Solchart Management in Finland."

There have been conflicting reports of the whereabouts of the vessel, with a Russian maritime website suggesting it was in the Bay of Biscay on Friday.

Other reports suggested it was more than 3,200km further south near Cape Verde.

Nothing has been heard of the Russian crew since the ship was reportedly boarded by armed and masked men in Swedish waters on July 24.

The vessel has been missing since July 28 when it passed through the English Channel.