Ashdod
The ship, the Francop, a commercial vessel operating under the guise of an aid ship, captained by a Pole and flying an Antiguan flag was towed to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, where the weapons were being unloaded. The vessel is operated by United Feeder Services, a Cyprus-based shipping company that said it picked up the cargo in Damietta, Egypt. The cargo included rockets, grenades, mortar shells and missiles.
Service in/out Limassol will be performed by ‘Francop’, -UFS newsletter 44
"This could be bigger than Karin-A," a military source said.
Operation Noah's Ark (Hebrew: מבצע תיבת נוח, Mivtza Teyvat Noah) was an Israeli military action in January 2002 in which they seized Karine A, a Palestinian freighter in the Red Sea. The vessel was found to be carrying 50 tons of weapons, including twelve-mile-range Katyusha rockets, antitank missiles, and high explosives.
* Name: FRANCOP
* MMSI: 305234000
* IMO: 9277412
* Call sign: V2DJ5
* Flag: Antigua and Barbuda
* Vesseltype: Cargo Ship
* Width: 22 m
* Length: 137 m
build 2003
speed 18
