I just logged on to the net – but if I see a picture of Obama I am going puke.

So, I pose this question to the navy guys: Is Debka blowing smoke?

[Debka claims]

US and Egyptian warships were scouring the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea Tuesday, Jan. 20 to waylay an Iranian freighter carrying scores of heavy rockets for delivery to Hamas. DEBKAfile’s exclusive sources report they were acting on intelligence that a ship loaded with an estimated 60 tons of arms to replenish Hamas’ depleted war stocks had set out from the Iranian Persian Gulf port of Bandar Abbas on Jan. 17.

Our sources reveal that the arms-smuggling vessel started its voyage as the Iran-Hedayat and changed its name in mid sea to Famagustus registered to Panama. The captain was ordered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to unload its cargo at a smugglers cove on the southeastern coast of Sinai opposite the Gulf of Suez…

US-Egyptian Red Sea hunt for Iranian ship carrying 60 tons of arms for Hamas

[and]

The USS San Antonio amphibian warship, heading the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 patrolling the Gulf of Aden for pirates, has been assigned with hunting down the Iranian cargo vessel carrying 60 tons of rockets and other arms for smuggling into Gaza. This is revealed by DEBKAfile’s exclusive military sources. CTF 151 is a new American force, announced in Washington Saturday Jan. 17, for fighting the Somali pirates plaguing the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Red Sea, under the command of Rear Adm. Terry McKnight. These are the very waterways plied by Iranian arms smugglers for Hamas, often in conjunction with Somali pirates and Sinai Bedouin militias.

US anti-piracy task force to intercept Iran’s Hamas arms ship

[Globalsecurity]

SAN ANTONIO, At Sea (NNS) — Amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD-17), the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, is serving as an afloat forward staging base(AFSB) during its current counterpiracy mission.

“We’re able to embark and support a wide range of forces and equipment, and as the [executive officer], it is my job to ensure that these embarked units— just like the crew — have the resources and support they need to accomplish their assigned tasking,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kearns, San Antonio’s executive officer. As an AFSB, the San Antonio brings a robust capability to the theater and task force commanders, and the breadth and depth of embarked forces currently on board San Antonio are a prime example. Those embarked on San Antonio from the Marine Corps are the 3rd platoon of the 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit’s (MEU) ‘Golf’ Infantry Company, a military police detachment, and intelligence personnel.

Others using the ship as an AFSB include an eight-man Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) that specializes in maritime interdiction operations, three HH-60H helicopters from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 3 that cross-decked from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and members of Fleet Surgical Team 8 who bring a level-two surgical capability to the ship to deal with trauma, surgical, critical care and medical evacuation needs.

See: Globalsecurity