well then, where did the tip-off come from?

Israeli commandos storm arms ship
from Iran bound for Hezbollah
Anshel Pfeffer, Amos Harel, Barak Ravid, Haaretz, Nov 4 2009

Israeli special forces on Wednesday took control of an Iranian vessel carrying arms intended for Hezbollah not far from Cyprus. The ship was believed to have set out from Iran and later docked in Yemen and Sudan before sailing through the Suez Canal. Its final destination was believed to be either Syria or Lebanon. The Antigua-flagged ship was discovered during routine patrols conducted by the Navy, according to a communiqué from the IDF. After soldiers boarded the freighter ship, they discovered a large cache of arms and ammunition which were concealed in order to appear to be of a commercial nature. After the initial search on board the ship, the navy towed the freighter to Israel, where it conducted a thorough inspection of the cargo, the IDF said. Intelligence agencies had surveilled the vessel for a number of days leading up to the raid.

Over 60 tons of advanced arms
and missiles found on vessel
Yaakov Katz, JPost, Nov 4 2009

Special Navy forces discovered weapons and ammunition on a cargo ship overnight Tuesday, after boarding the Francop some 100 nautical miles west of Israel flying an Antiguan flag. Defense officials said the 140m long Francop, captured near Cyprus, was carrying arms sent by Iran and destined for Syria and Hizbullah. More than 60 tons of weaponry were on board, in dozens of containers. The Francop carried hundreds of containers. Israel Radio reported that advanced anti-aircraft platforms not before found in the region were also on board. Military intelligence had been following the ship’s progress for several days. The vessel is German, and its captain of Polish nationality. The elite Navy Commando unit Shayetet 13 soldiers, who didn’t encounter resistance on board, found the weapons and ammunition cache hidden behind what appeared to be a civilian cargo. According to the officials, the vessel carried advanced weaponry, including missiles.

Owners of Hezbollah-bound arms ship:
We didn’t know about weapons
Hanan Greenberg, Ynet, Nov 4 2009

An Israeli Navy commando force boarded the Francop, a cargo ship owned by charter company UFS traveling under an Antiguan flag. The crew did not resist the commandos and said that they did not know what was in the large container on board. The commando force opened the container and revealed missiles, rockets, shells, grenades, and small arms. The Francop was taken to Ashdod Port. The ship left Damietta Port in Egypt for Limassol, Cyprus. The ship was slated to anchor Thursday in Beirut Port and continue on to Latakia Port in Syria, where it would dock over the weekend. The Francop was built in 2003 and is 137m in length, and 22m in width. The ship enters and exits these ports frequently. Just last month, the ship anchored for a total of 18 hours in Cyprus after arriving from Beirut, where the crew stayed for five hours. In the summer months, the ship anchored in a number of Greek ports. UFS, the owners of the ship, is a Cypriot freight delivery company that operates in dozens of ports in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Speaking on behalf of UFS, Paniatois Emirs said to Ynet:

We rented the chip, but it is not under our ownership. We are only carriers. We did not know there were weapons on the ship. We knew that we were delivering containers, but we are not legally permitted to check what is inside them. This is the responsibility of the customs authorities at the ports where we anchor. We do not know what happened on the ship. We are waiting, just like you are, for answers. This is the first time something like this happens to us. I hope this will not damage the relations between Cyprus and Israel, because it is just business for us.