A missing ship with 15 Russian crew members on board has been spotted more than two weeks after it disappeared, unconfirmed reports say, BBC reported.
The Arctic Sea had last been sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July.
A coastguard source told AFP news agency it had now been seen some 400 nautical miles from the Cape Verde islands, off West Africa.
Russian navy ships have been searching for the 4,000-tonne Maltese-flagged vessel, which had been carrying timber.
There was no immediate confirmation of the sighting from Russian authorities.
The Russian ambassador to Cape Verde, Alexander Karpushin, said a Russian frigate was heading to the area but had no information on the cargo ship's location, Associated Press reported, quoting Russian radio.
Five Russian warships and other vessels have been searching in the Atlantic for it.
Carrying timber reportedly worth $1.8m (£1.1m), the Arctic Sea sailed from Finland and had been scheduled to dock in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August.
The ship had reported being boarded by up to 10 armed men as it sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July, but the intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours.
Observers have suggested the ship was hijacked, possibly because of a Russian commercial dispute.