Russia has arrested eight people who hijacked the merchant ship Arctic Sea, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Serdyukov said the hijackers of the ship, whose disappearance baffled maritime authorities for weeks, included nationals from Russia, Estonia and Latvia.

Russia's navy on Monday found the missing merchant ship, whose disappearance baffled maritime authorities across Europe for over two weeks, in the Atlantic Ocean near the Cape Verde islands. - Reuters