Destruction of the Ateviros

The Destruction of the Ateviros (named after a high mountain on the island of Rhodes) was done during an operation to thwart a major attack planned by Abu Jihad, Yasser Arafat's deputy. The target of the attack was the Kariya camp in Tel Aviv, and the planned date was Independence Day 1985. The missile ships Achi Moladat (of the Sa'ar 4 series) and Achi Mifat (of the Sa'ar 2 series) participated in the countermeasures. The terrorist ship "Atbiros" was sunk by Achi Muledet cannon fire with 20 militants on board.

Destruction of the Ateviros
Part of Operation Derech Netz
Date 19 April 1985 - 21 April 1985 (3 days) Location 50 nautical miles northeast of Port Said Result Israeli victory Territorial changes Prevention of an attack on Tel Aviv
Belligerents
Israel	PLO
Commanders and leaders
Moshe Levy Abraham ben-Shoshan Dani Halevy	Abu Jihad
Strength
Achi Moladat and Achi Mifot and a takeover force from Shayetet 13	Cargo ship Ateviros
Casualties and losses
None	20 + killed and 8 captured

Background

Ateviros was built in the Netherlands for a Finnish shipping company. Her first name was Kuurtanes and she was launched in January 1960 and handed over to her owner in March of the same year. She had a load of 775 tons and an occupancy of 493 tons; It was 70 meters long and 10 meters wide. Its maximum speed was 11.5 knots (about 21 km/h).

In the following years, the ship changed hands several times between several companies in Finland and Norway, and its name changed accordingly. In 1972, the ship was renovated and a lift-up door was installed in the side. In 1977 the ship was sold to a Panamanian registered company, and in the following years it was sold several times between different shipping companies, registered under the Panamanian flag. In 1984, the ship was sold to the company "Lucky Captain", also a company registered in Panama, and its name was changed to "Attavirus".

The preparation of the attack

After the expulsion of PLO members from Beirut in August 1982 and their establishment in Tunis, the organization's leaders began planning operations against Israel from their new base. The maritime arena as a medium from which to act against Israel, by approaching the shore by ship, disembarking terrorists from the ship to the shore, and carrying out an attack near it. The attack on the Savoy Hotel in 1975 and the attack on the coastal road in 1978 were carried out according to this concept.

In 1984, Abu Jihad began planning a major terrorist attack in Israel. The intention was to carry out a bargaining attack in Israel on the day of remembrance for the martyrs of the Israeli forces. [ a ] The terrorists were supposed to arrive by sea in Israel while hidden in a container on board a cargo ship, from which they would disembark in three rubber boats when the ship arrived at a distance of about 100 kilometers from the coast of Tel Aviv. The terrorists, equipped with guns, RPG-7 launchers and explosives, were supposed to arrive at Bat Yam beach. According to the plan, the terrorists were supposed to take over a bus full of passengers with whom they would infiltrate the Kriya base, where they would carry out a bargaining attack with the hostages they would capture, some of whom were supposed to be senior officers who would be captured in Kriya. If the operation goes wrong, the terrorists planned to shoot for mass killing. For the purpose of the operation, the PLO purchased the ships "Moon Light" and "Atbiros", both medium-sized cargo ships. Both ships were anchored in the city of Annaba in eastern Algeria, near the Tunisian border, 2,900 kilometers from the coast of Israel

Isareli defensive measures

Main article: Operation Derech Netz

The Israeli intelligence community began to gather information that indicated the intention to initiate a major attack. When the information arrived about the purchase of two merchant ships, the conclusion was drawn that an attack from the sea was planned. On April 7, four missile ships left Israel for Algeria for Operation Darech Netz. On the night of April 14–15, the missile ships took down fighters of the 13th Fleet, who penetrated the port of Annaba, located the ship "Moon Light" and sank it. "Atbiros" was not found and the IDF concluded that the ship had already left on its way to the attack and began searching for it.

In retrospect, it turned out that "Atbiros" set off from Algiers, aiming to reach a drop-off point about 60 miles (about 100 km) west of Tel Aviv, where it was supposed to drop off three rubber boats containing 20 terrorists. The rubber boats were supposed to move Towards the coast while maintaining communication silence and avoiding contact with vessels, the ship was planned to return to the Port Said area and wait there. Reconnaissance flights by the Air Force in an attempt to locate the "Atbiros" found nothing. On Friday, April 19, Ahi Mouldat went on a patrol off the southern coast of Israel. "Moldat" was under the command of Lt. Col. Danny Halevi and also had the Sheitat 13 fighter squad and the listening squad on board. Ahi Matvet, under the command of Capt. Yaron Zahar, went on a patrol off the north coast. During the night Ahi Moled suffered a malfunction in one of the engines, but Halevi decided to continue with only three engines.

The conflict

On Saturday April 20 at noon, when "Molad" was about 70 miles from the coast at the latitude of Ashkelon, a group of targets were detected by the radar moving from south to north. Halevi decided to focus on 25 ships sailing northeast, towards Syria and Lebanon. Checking the courses and speed indicated a ship whose route would pass closer to the shores of Israel than the others. and began to accompany her from afar. It was a very dark, moonless night.

At 11:15 p.m., Achi Mould approached the stern of the suspect ship. Turning on the xenon searchlight for a short time, the ship's name was clearly visible: ATTAVIROS, and the door allowing boats to be lowered on the side was also discovered. At this point, the intention was only to move the ship away from Israel's shores. "Atbiros" on Channel 16, the international maritime communication channel, and demanded that she change her sailing route and move towards the northwest. Atbiros replied in English that the vessel was in Egyptian territorial waters and therefore she continued on her way.

At 00:09 Halevi reported to the Navy headquarters that he was about 500 meters away and was requesting permission to fire a warning shot. Confirmation received. "Atbiros" suddenly changed direction and started sailing back towards Port Said. Halevi feared that the ship would enter the coastal waters of Egypt and escape. At 00:30, Halevi ordered the firing of an intimidation burst from the phalanx cannon of "Moldat" towards the bow of the "Atbiros". It continued on its course and after a short time an RPG rocket was fired from it towards "Molat", accompanied by a bunch of small arms fire. The shooting made it clear to the "Homeland" team that it was the terrorists' ship, and the ship's commander received an order to fire in order to silence it. "Motherland" moved away a little so that it could fire its main cannon, with a diameter of 76 mm, and opened fire from a range of 2,700 meters. After firing 42 shells in a few minutes, the target disappeared from the radar screen.

"Moleda" moved to the last point where the "Atbiros" was seen on the radar. While moving, "Moleda" noticed two vessels, probably Egyptian missile ships, which were seen on the radar screen. The two vessels moved towards "Atbiros" at a speed of 22 knots (40 km/h), from the direction of Port Said. After a few minutes, the Egyptian vessels turned around and returned to the port. Achi Molada continued to search for survivors, and the crew members smelled diesel fuel and saw planks and fragments different in water. As they approached the area where Atbirus was, whistles began to be heard from the whistles in the life belts .

Insurer activity

After a safe guard, under the command of Captain Zachar, was found about 70 nautical miles (about 130 km) north of the collision area. When it became clear that the ship that had discovered "Moldat" was indeed "Atbiros" it turned "insurer" and moved south at a speed of 40 knots (74 km/h), a relatively high speed compared to the normal speed used in patrols, 30 knots (about 55 km/h). [ 1 ] After sailing for about two hours, the "Mevat" vessel arrived at the point where the "Atbiros" was sunk and assisted in the collection of the terrorists

Surviving militants

Halevi knew that the survivors in the water were terrorists from an elite unit of the PLO, and he strove to reduce the risk to his men. Because of this, he decided not to lower the Shayetet 13 team into the water in rubber boats for the purpose of the rescue, but approached with the ship and shone the xenon searchlight on the survivors . During the approach, they aimed The ship's crew kissed the terrorists and ordered them to raise their hands. Eight terrorists, three of whom were in the ship's crew, were found alive. It was not possible to see what was in the lower part of the body, in case they were carrying explosives For them to undress and climb the rope ladder, with the soldiers aiming their weapons at them, the terrorists were handcuffed as soon as they got on the ship. The rescue process was slow and lasted about four hours.

Even after the sinking of the "Atbiros" there was concern that the ship managed to take down an attack squad before it was sunk, and that it was already on its way to the shores of Israel. In a preliminary investigation of the survivors, it turned out that there were another 20 terrorists on the ship who drowned, and the fear that there was an attack squad that got off the ship earlier was misplaced.

In the orderly investigation of the terrorists that took place later, it became clear that they had been training for the operation for almost a year. The training, which took place in Algeria, was divided into a land phase and a sea phase, and also included maritime navigation and the use of compasses. In the investigations, effective information was obtained, which helped in the seizure of additional ships. The terrorists were held in Israel for about a month. They were released as part of the Jibril deal in May 1985.

Aftermath

Achi Muledat entered the port in Ashdod with a broomstick fixed on the mast, a sign of the sinking of an enemy ship. Achi Mevt continued and entered the port of Haifa. The wharves in Ashdod and Haifa are full of senior officers and soldiers cheering for the ships, which managed to overtake and damage the enemy in an elegant way.

Prime Minister Shimon Peres spoke with Lt. Col. Danny Halevi on the phone and told him that "the State of Israel thanks him and his team."

Commendable marks

Lt.. Col. Dani Halevi and his team received a certificate of appreciation for their performance in the operation from the commander of the Navy, Col. Avraham Ben Shushan:

Please accept my full appreciation for your contribution in the action that led to the sinking of the terrorist ship on the night of April 2–20, 1985. Your ship functioned with professionalism and skill and you, as part and partner of this well-oiled war machine, contributed your part to the success of the execution. Thanks to you and your shipmates, one of the most deadly attempts by the terrorists to harm the citizens of the State of Israel by sea was thwarted. The sinking of the ship on its destroyers prevented a major disaster and allowed the citizens of the State of Israel to celebrate this Independence Day in peace and safety