ASHDOD, Israel– More than 3,000 rockets were apparently being smuggled aboard the ship Francop, which was captured in the Mediterranean Sea by Israel Navy missile boats and naval commandos late this past Tuesday, November 3, in an operation dubbed Operation Four Species.

The navy, which tracks suspicious activity at sea along known smuggling routes in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, located the Francop vessel shortly after it left Damietta, Egypt on Tuesday on its way to Limassol, Cyprus, and then to Syria. As evening approached, an Israeli navy missile boat made contact with the Francop and asked to conduct a routine inspection of its cargo. Israeli naval commandos boarded the ship around midnight on Tuesday and were met with no resistance from the ship’s crew of eleven.

The naval personnel checked the ship’s manifest, which showed that the cargo was going to the Syrian port of Latakia, and began opening the containers. Upon inspection, they found sacks of polyethylene near the opening and along the walls of the containers, but behind the sacks, they discovered numerous crates of ammunition and artillery shells. Immediately, the naval personnel ordered the crew to sail to Ashdod, Israel.

The cargo included thousands of medium-range rockets, armor-piercing artillery, hand grenades and ammunition for rifles.  The navy estimated that the haul included more than 3,000 rockets and a total of 300 tons of weaponry.

In response to the seizure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated “This was a ship carrying a massive amount of weapons that Iran tried to ship to Syria, and from there to Hezbollah.  He further added that “The bulk of the shipment included rockets intended to hurt Israelis and kill as many civilians as possible. This constitutes a war crime. The UN General Assembly should have investigated and condemned this crime and the UN Security Council should have convened a special session to debate this incident.”

For more information, please see:

Amsterdam News- Israeli Prime Minister Says Arms Shipment a War Crime– 7 November 2009

Ha’aretz- Israel Seizes Ship in Mediterranean Carrying More than 3,000 Rockets– 6 November 2009

The Washington Post- Israel Says Seized Ship Contained Iranian Arms– 5 November 2009