Hezbollah perhaps moves anti-ship missiles to Lebanon,

Thousands of P-15s were built and installed on many classes of ships from MTBs to destroyers, as well coastal batteries. The P-15 was quite successful in the conflicts where it was deployed.


According to an American official, there could be upwards of 12 Russian-made anti-ship cruise missiles in Hezbollah’s possession inside Syria. The official stated that while the organization had successfully smuggled at least some of the parts of the weapons into Lebanon this past year amid the chaos of the Syrian conflict, not all required parts had been transferred.


[November 5 2009]




Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki protested, "the report was not true. The ship was heading for Iran from Syria carrying Syrian goods, not weapons."

Israel Defense Force Commando Unit 13 knew what they were looking for. 36 of the 400 containers on board the Francop were intended for Hezbollah, "Hezbollah categorically denies it has any connection with the weapons which the Zionist enemy claims it seized aboard the Francop ship," Hezbollah said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press in Beirut.

IDF sources said that they were not ruling out the possibility that some of the mortar shells were manufactured in Israel and painted to make them look new. Israel's Soltam Company sold thousands of mortar shells to Iran during the regime of the Shah in the 1970s and some of them are believed to have been already transferred to Hizbullah in the past.

The Spanish crates were carrying 106 mm. shells and each had the words "2 Disparos" written on them, meaning two shots, for the number of rockets inside.

The 107 mm. rockets were in crates claiming that they were manufactured in 2007. There were even instruction manuals inside in English explaining how to handle the rocket, carry it and even place it inside a launcher.

The 122 mm. Katyusha rockets appeared to have been manufactured in Russia since they were covered in Russian writing. Some of the Kalashnikov bullets likely came from China.

KG shipping funds and Iranian Arms Shipments

An increasing number of KG shipping funds, which are popular among German professionals such as doctors, dentists and lawyers seeking tax breaks, are thought to be close to collapse as funding dries up. Peter Döhle Schiffahrts KG lists the containership Francop as part of its box fleet. The depth of the crisis was highlighted by confirmation that Peter Döhle Schiffahrts, one of the world's largest charter shipowners, has applied for loans from a government fund set up to help companies survive the global economic downturn. German container shipowners, who control a third of the world box ship fleet, are facing increasing financial difficulties and the threat of bankruptcy as charter rates test fresh lows with the end of the peak shipping season. An Israeli special forces squadron captured the Francop flying the Antiguan flag near Cyprus, containers with hundreds of tons of rockets, missiles and ammunition destined for the Hizbullah were captured.

Francop: advanced AA platforms aboard

Reports in Israel say advanced anti-aircraft platforms never before found in the region were on board.

The registered owner of the vessel is Francop Shipping Ltd. Isle of Man, and hence to the German shipping company Reederei Gerd Bartels, based near the port of Hamburg. Mirko Bartels of the private shipping firm : "We have nothing to say." Ship manager: BARTELS G. 23, Wacholderweg, Neu Wulmstorf
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moalim called the Israeli commandos "pirates" and denied the ship was carrying weapons in televised comments made during a visit to Tehran on 03 November.


In the past year, Lebanese authorities have arrested approximately 70 people on suspicion of spying for Israel. Last month, the Lebanese Army said it had found three eavesdropping devices attached to Hezbollah's private fiber-optic communication lines. The containers were owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines Group.