ST. PETERSBURG, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - Relatives of the crew of the Arctic Sea, which was located on Monday after disappearing in the Atlantic on July 28, have still not spoken to their loved ones, a trade union spokesman said on Wednesday.
The Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea, carrying timber and crewed by 15 Russians, was located 480 km (300 miles) off Cape Verde by a Russian warship after an international hunt to trace the ship and a ransom demand of $1.5 million. Eight suspected hijackers - four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians - were arrested by Russian naval personnel.
"Up to now they [the relatives] have not had any contact with them. Perhaps, it would be possible to show a crew member on Russian TV so that they can see they are alive and well," the spokesman said.
"We are getting all our information from TV only," one of crew members' wives said, "We are waiting for them to come home. How long can this go on?" she added.
The eight suspected hijackers boarded the ship on July 24 in the Baltic Sea in what is the first case of piracy in European waters since the 17th century. A crew member spoke to British coastguards on July 28 stating that the men had left the ship, and the Arctic Sea was continuing its voyage.
Finnish police said earlier that a $1.5 million ransom demand had been issued.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Wednesday citing the crew that a ransom demand had been issued for the return of the Arctic Sea vessel.
"Crew members have confirmed that hijackers issued a ransom demand" and threatened to blow up the ship if it was not paid," a ministry spokesman said.
A spokesman from Solchart Arkhangelsk Ltd (Arkhangelsk), the company which operates the Arctic Sea, said that they also have not had any contact with the crew and no information on the condition of the vessel.
"We have not been informed on this yet," the spokesman said.
Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told the LNT TV-channel on Wednesday that Latvia had not received any evidence of the involvement of two Latvian nationals in the seizure of the merchant ship.
The Finnish-owned cargo ship left Finland on July 22 en route for Algeria.
