Six men have been jailed for their part in the hijacking of timber cargo ship the Arctic Sea.

The men were sentenced for between seven and 12 years, while a further man was given seven years of hard labour.

The Arctic Sea was the subject of a massive sea hunt when it mysteriously disappeared during its journey from Finland to Algeria.

It was carrying 6,700m³ of timber valued at about €1.3m. It was finally found off Cape Verde by the Russian navy.

Conspiracy theories suggested the ship could have been carrying weapons but ultimately a group of men were arrested and accused of hijacking the ship off Sweden and holding the crew to ransom.