Chariot: Arms Ship Off AIS for 60 hours

The SVG-flag, Russian-owned arms ship Chariot passing Crete into the Levantine Sea went off AIS -- Info Received: 1d 13h 35min ago [as of 01:53:21 PM GMT 02/05/2012].
Back on February 6 near Port Said, Egypt

[February 6]And in an apparent swipe at Russian arms shipments to Syria, Clinton said, “We will work to expose those who are still funding the regime and sending it weapons
“We don't supply firearms and what we supply is not used in the conflict,” Lavrov added. Russia’s arms supplies to Syria will not affect the balance of power in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on February 4.
The cargo ship MV Chariot, flying the St. Vincent and Grenadines flag, was en route from St. Petersburg to the Syrian port of Latakia carrying from 35 to 60 tons of ammunition and explosives meant for the Syrian Defense Ministry. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ship carried a “dangerous cargo,” but did not elaborate. According to the documents, the cargo sender was the Russian state arms trader Rosoboronexport. “We have, as you know, asked for clarification from the Russian Federation. This was a subject of discussion with the Embassy. It was also raised by Deputy Secretary Burns when he was in Moscow,” Department of State Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said. “Our understanding is that the Russian side continues to look into who was responsible and what happened precisely,” she went on. novisti

A well-placed source has confirmed to the BBC that it [Chariot] was carrying tons of ammunition destined for the Syrian security forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Bulgaria, called February 5 for "friends of democratic Syria" to unite and rally against President Bashar Assad's regime, previewing the possible formation of a formal group of likeminded nations to coordinate assistance to the Syrian opposition.
"So we should begin thinking about what we can do, particularly with the Arab League,"Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Panetta were a prime attraction at the Munich Security Conference,February 4, an annual gathering of European and American national security officials and experts. The two spoke to an audience that included... Senators John Kerry, John McCain and Joseph I. Lieberman; and numerous defense and foreign ministers from Europe.
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman said. "I think it begins with support for the Syrian Free Army."
[February 5]Clinton told reporters after meeting top Bulgarian officials. Such a group could be similar, but not identical, to the Contact Group on Libya, which oversaw international help for opponents of the late deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. However, in the case of Libya, the group also coordinated NATO military operations to protect Libyan civilians, something that is not envisioned in Syria. back

" S-300 on board the Arctic Sea ...a complete lie,"

"The presence of S-300 on board the Arctic Sea cargo ship is a complete lie,"
Russia has until recently delayed the implementation of a 2007 deal with Iran on the supply of S-300s. The contract is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Speaking in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed media speculation about S-300 missiles on board the Arctic Sea as "groundless"; reports that the ship had illegal arms on board were "absolutely untrue".

"The best means to apply outside pressure on Iran's decision-making process lie not in isolating Tehran or threats of resorting to force, but in involving it in an important international cooperation."

But see The ministry said that, when the ship was intercepted, its captain claimed it was the North Korean vessel Chendin-2, and was headed from Havana to Sierra Leone with a cargo of palm wood.

It said North Korea had asserted that was impossible, saying the Chendin-2 was docked at an Angolan port at the time.
And"The vessel had all the necessary modern means of communication and emergency alarms, and was located in waters where ordinary mobile telephones work," said Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht.