ST. PETERSBURG, October 29 (RIA Novosti) - A new crew has flown from Russia to Malta to replace the sailors on the cargo ship in the center of a mysterious hijacking case since July, the top official in a Russian sailors' trade union said on Thursday.

"14 sailors left Arkhangelsk yesterday to replace the Arctic Sea cargo ship's crew," Alexander Krasnoshtan, head of Russia's northern regional trade union, said.

The Russian-crewed and Maltese-flagged vessel approached Maltese territorial waters early on Thursday, where negotiations on its handover will begin, after Maltese police and maritime authorities examine the vessel.

The vessel disappeared in the Atlantic on July 24 while carrying a $2 million shipment of timber from Finland to Algeria and was intercepted off West Africa on August 17, when eight alleged hijackers were arrested.

The disappearance, which triggered a major international search effort, raised suspicions about a "secret cargo" of drugs or weapons carried by the ship. Russian authorities have denied the rumors, saying the vessel was hijacked by criminals who demanded a ransom.

The captain and three crew members, along with Russian investigators, are still on board, but the other 11 Russian crewmen have been sent home. They were reportedly held for several weeks at an undisclosed location for questioning by Russian authorities and were subsequently released after being sworn to secrecy.

Krasnoshtan said it was unclear when the captain and three sailors would return to Russia as the ship was still waiting for permission to enter the port of La Valetta.

The ship had been anchored to the east of Gibraltar for weeks and guarded by two Russian vessels as Algeria, the vessel's original destination, denied the vessel entry. It was then towed to Malta.