Mary Celeste Ghost Ship & Other Theories On Missing Russian Ship

The Arctic Sea, a Russian Cargo Ship that went missing on July 30 and was found two weeks later on August 17, has been compared to the Mary Celeste "Ghost Ship" and spawned a range of conspiracy theories.

The Mary Celeste "Ghost Ship" is a famous cargo ship that was found with its full cargo of alcohol in the Atlantic in 1872, but with all of the Mary Celeste crew members missing.

In addition to the Mary Celeste "Ghost Ship", other conspiracy theories about the Arctic Sea's disappearance have been fueled by the ship's strange trajectory as it carried $1.84 million worth of lumber from Finland to Algeria. Prior to its disappearance, the Arctic Sea was attacked by men posing as Swedish anti-drug police on July 24. It then made a routine stop in the English Channel on July 28. Soon after, reports indicated that the Arctic Sea was hijacked a second time off of the coast of Portugal on July 31. During the two weeks that the Arctic Sea was missing, it was also sighted off the coast of France and the Cape Verde Islands.

The strange occurrences led some to speculate that the Arctic Sea may have been hijacked because it carried cargo more valuable than the lumber authorities claimed. Speculators suggested that reality might read like a Tom Clancy novel, with the cargo ship containing drugs or something that some national governments may have wanted to hide.

A less exciting explanation than the Mary Celeste "Ghost Ship" and secret high-security cargo is that a lack of inter-governmental cooperation led to the ship's disappearance.