The Moscow City Court on Friday sentenced Latvian national Dmitry Savins to seven years in a high-security prison for leading a pirate attack on the Arctic Sea vessel.

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

The prosecutor had asked for nine years while Savins' defense lawyers thought their client would get six.

Savins is the second defendant in the case to fully admit his guilt. Earlier, another hijacker, Andrei Lunev, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years.

The other six suspects maintain their innocence and have been remanded in custody until August 18 while the investigation continues.

In a plea bargain, Savins testified against the alleged mastermind behind the attack, Eerik-Niiles Kross, the former head of Estonia's foreign intelligence service.

Russian investigations committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said investigators were looking into Savins' testimony.

Kross denied the allegations.

"The allegations that I ordered the seizure of the Arctic Sea are at variance with the facts," he was quoted as saying by Estonian daily Eesti Paevaleht. "I believe that these fabrications are connected to my consultation services for Georgia on security matters. Georgia is not Russia's best friend."

Kross owns Trustcorp, a consultancy firm that has in the past few years been working with Georgian state agencies.

Latvian prosecutors said there was no evidence linking Kross to the Arctic Sea seizure.

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

Russia's special investigations committee announced last year that all 14 crewmembers of the Arctic Sea had been formally recognized as victims of a pirate attack.

MOSCOW, June 11 (RIA Novosti)