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Tue, March 15, 2011 | DebkaFile | IDF

An Israeli Navy ship approaches the "Victoria" cargo ship after requesting to board. The ship's crew and captain complied, and with their full cooperation and to their surprise, their ship was found to contain various weaponry, including many mortar shells, and advanced anti-ship missiles with a 35 km range.

Israeli Navy Intercepts “Victoria” Carrying Arms Delivered by Iranian Warships

The Israeli Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 commandos intercepted the German-owned A.S. Victoria Tuesday, March 15 about 320 kilometers off Israel’s Mediterranean coast on its way from the Turkish port of Mercin to Egyptian El Arish with Alexandria its final destination.

The Liberian-flagged vessel was carrying a large consignment of weapons including C-704 shore-to-ship missiles (with Farsi-language manuals) with a range of 35 kilometers and heavy mortars shells bound for the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Debkafile reports the consignment was picked up at the Syrian port of Latakia after being offloaded there by the two Iranian warships which transited the Suez Canal February 22.

The ship’s documents and crew showed the vessel had departed from Latakia Port in Syria before proceeding to Mercin Port in Turkey. At least three crates of weapons were uncovered on board. Hundreds of others will be inspected when the ship reaches Israeli port. The crew did not resist the Israeli naval commandoes who boarded the vessel.

The US and Israeli navies did not stop the Iranian Alvand missile destroyer and Kharg logistical cruiser when they applied to transit the canal last month, asserting that they could not be stopped as they were not carrying contraband weapons. Egyptian Suez Canal officials made the same determination after reporting they had been inspected. Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the voyage was no more harmful than a “cadets’ outing.”

Debkafile alone reported the Iranian warships were carrying missiles.

It now turns out that the clean bill of health they all gave the Iranian warships was not based on fact.

At the same time, debkafile’s military sources report that from the time that the Iranian navy ships entered the Mediterranean, US and Israeli warships and spy planes kept their movements under close surveillance: Around Feb. 25-26, the Kharg was seen offloading a large batch of containers at Syrian Navy ordnance depots in Latakia port.

In the second half of last week, the German A.S Victoria docked there and was seen loading the containers delivered by the Iranian warships at Latakia. It now appears that the ship was instructed to detour to the Turkish port and wait there for a couple of days to disguise its real destination.

But after learning that the arms were bound for El Arish (Egypt), in northern Sinai, Israel decided to apprehend the cargo before it could be delivered, whether to Hamas in Gaza or radical Egyptian Muslims, which Iran has been backing and funding.

Hamas would have arranged to have had it picked up at El Arish and spirited into the Gaza through its smuggling tunnels. But it is possible too that Iran, while originally planning to consign the weapons to the Palestinian extremists in Gaza, changed their destination later to Egypt.

Much about this episode is still obscure, except for the clear evidence of military intelligence cooperation between Tehran, Damascus, Ankara, Hizballah and Hamas in the smuggling of Iranian weapons to radical groups in the region.

Cairo may have something to say about the seizure in international waters of a ship bound for Egyptian waters, albeit one surreptitiously carrying arms.

Ankara, too, will not enjoy the exposure of Mercin, a port under the close supervision of the Turkish Navy, as a hub for the illegal transfer of Iranian war materials to the Palestinian Hamas and anti-government forces fighting Arab regimes.

Debkafile’s intelligence sources report that several boats loaded with arms for the Libyan rebels sailed out of Mercin in the last few days. They were bound for the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

It was decided in Jerusalem that whatever the destination of the Iranian weapons cargo may be, severing this link in Iran’s new weapons smuggling route was absolutely essential.

Israeli Navy Addresses “Victoria” Cargo Ship

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvXZHdMr24E

IDF Navy Soldiers Board the “Victoria”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS2iqwAMaVA

Israeli Navy Soldiers Board the “Victoria”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99qJmuP-jw

IDF seizes freighter of Iranian weapons headed to Gaza

From the Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, March 15, 2011:

The “Victoria” arrived in the Ashdod port on Tuesday evening. The Victoria cargo ship that was boarded by Israeli Navy commandos on Tuesday morning was carrying advanced Chinese-made anti-ship missiles that would have threatened Israeli sea-based strategic installations and navy vessels, deputy commander of the navy Rear Admiral Rani Ben-Yehuda said on Tuesday.

Thirty-nine containers were loaded on the Victoria in Latakia including four that were slated to be unloaded in the Egyptian port of Alexandria. When the commandos boarded the ship they found the four locked and after opening them discovered some 50 tons of weaponry including the advanced anti-ship missiles.

The C-704 has a range of 35 km and carries a warhead with 130 kg of explosives. The commandos found booklets explaining how to use the missile in Farsi, further proof that the missiles originated in Iran.

The missiles use an advanced radar to acquire their targets. In 2006, a Chinese-made C-802 missile struck the INS Hanit off the coast of Beirut killing four Israeli sailors.

“The missile is made in china and it is in the possession of the Iranian and this adds to suspicions that it came from Iran,” Ben-Yehuda said. “There were also instructional booklets in Farsi.”

According to IDF assessments, Hamas does not have anti-ship missiles in Gaza. The IDF estimates that several of these missiles were included in the weaponry found on the Victoria.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that he gave the order on Monday night to board and take over the freight ship based on firm intelligence information that was it was carrying arms from Iran to Gaza. “The seizure was made at sea according to international laws. We updated all the relevant countries and the international community,” he added.

The Israeli Navy has conducted numerous operations over the years against Iranian smuggling to Hamas and Hezbollah. Foreign reports attribute bombings of truck convoys in Sudan as well as arms ships in the Red Sea in recent years to the IDF. In November 2009, the Israeli Navy seized the Francop cargo ship, which was carrying 500 tons of weaponry from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including Katyusha rockets and grenades. At the time, IDF officers said the amount was enough to sustain Hezbollah for several weeks of war.

Photo Gallery

courtesy: IDF

Missile Identification Document in Persian

A C-704 anti-ship missile found on the ship

A C-704 anti-ship missile found on the ship

The IDF Navy intercepted the cargo vessel “Victoria” loaded with various weaponry. According to assessments, the weaponry on-board the vessel was intended for the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Navy intercepted the cargo vessel “Victoria” loaded with various weaponry. According to assessments, the weaponry on-board the vessel was intended for the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Navy intercepted the cargo vessel “Victoria” loaded with various weaponry. According to assessments, the weaponry on-board the vessel was intended for the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Navy intercepted the cargo vessel “Victoria” loaded with various weaponry. According to assessments, the weaponry on-board the vessel was intended for the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Navy intercepted the cargo vessel “Victoria” loaded with various weaponry. According to assessments, the weaponry on-board the vessel was intended for the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Navy intercepted the cargo vessel “Victoria” loaded with various weaponry. According to assessments, the weaponry on-board the vessel was intended for the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.