MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) - Maltese investigators are expected on board the Arctic Sea cargo vessel as part of the ongoing probe into the disappearance and seizure of the ship, Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The Maltese-flagged vessel, officially carrying lumber from Russia to Algeria, was reportedly boarded by a group of eight men on July 24 and mysteriously disappeared in the Atlantic. It was discovered off Cape Verde on August 16 by a Russian warship and is currently being towed to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.

"Russian investigators are actively continuing their cooperation with their foreign colleagues, particularly, on the Maltese side, under whose flag the ship was registered...Five Maltese investigators have arrived in Las Palmas. But they have yet to make it to the Arctic Sea," Andrei Nesterenko said in a statement, adding that there were reports of a storm in waters near the vessel.

Russian and international media has been rife with rumors that the Russian-operated ship could have been involved in an arms-smuggling or trafficking operation on a state level, including suggestions that Russia attempted to deliver missiles for S-300 air defense systems to Iran or Syria.

Russian investigators said on Tuesday, however, that a through search of the Arctic Sea had been conducted and just lumber registered in the ship's cargo log had been found.