Sources in Tel Aviv and Moscow claimed the ship had been loaded with S-300 missiles, one of Russia’s most advanced anti-aircraft weapons, while undergoing repairs in the Russian port of Kaliningrad, a port notorious for arms smuggling.
Mossad, supposedly tipped off the Russian government that the shipment had been sold by former military officers linked to the underworld. Rightardia believes this story is probably bogus. Russia had agreed to sell the S-300 to Iran in December, 2007.
Maritime reporter Mikhail Voitenko, was also forced to flee Russia after receiving threats for his suggestions about the cargo contents of the hijacked merchant vessel Arctic Sea. He moved a second time from Bangkok from Istanbul.
Admiral Tarmo Kouts, former commander of Estonia’s armed forces and the European Union’s rapporteur on piracy, infuriated Moscow by saying that the ship was transporting weapons.
The story about the hijacked Russian-crewed cargo ship grows ever more mysterious. Time magazine is alleging that the “Arctic Sea” was intercepted by Israel as it carried weapons to the Middle East.
The allegations began with Admiral Kouts, a former commander of the Estonian armed forces who now heads the European Union’s piracy watch.
According to him, Israel is the country most likely to have carried out the hijacking on the ship to prevent missiles being delivered to countries in the Middle East.
Time writes that in an interview with the magazine, Kouts said “only a shipment of missiles could account for Russia's bizarre behavior throughout the month-long saga.”
"There is the idea that there were missiles aboard, and one can't explain this situation in any other way," he is quoted as saying. "As a sailor with years of experience, I can tell you that the official versions are not realistic."
The official word, however, is that the “Arctic Sea” was transporting timber from Finland to Algeria. In response to Kouts’s allegations, Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s envoy to NATO, said he should stop "running his mouth."
Meanwhile, the majority of Israel’s population does not believe their country was in any way involved in the situation.
So, if Israel was involved in the hijacking of the Russian-manned vessel, why did it not draw attention to it?
According to Ronen Bergman, an investigative journalist at the Yediot Aharonoth newspaper, “Israeli intelligence would create the framework in which, for example, international police force would seize the ship.”
He said they’d “embarrass Russia or the company supplying the S-300 [Russian long range surface-to-air missile systems] to either Syria or Iran” by drawing the world’s attention to their actions and saying “Look, we caught them!”
S-300 missile system
In Russia, the Israeli involvement version has not met much support either.
“Look at the faces of the men who stormed the “Arctic Sea” and their backgrounds – they are criminals. Not a single security service in the world would ever deal with such people,” said Russian opposition politician Aleksey Mitrofanov. “The whole incident looks like score settling between the ship owner and his partners.
However, those who believe the allegation that Israel was involved in the interception of the ship say that no other country is more willing or more able to carry out an operation like that on such a professional level. Another question that some people keep asking is why Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Russia just a day after the hijacking.
So, it looks this story is far from the end.
Times of London source: http://tinyurl.com/kwlvfg
http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-09-03/arctic-sea-intercepted-israel.html#
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