Commissioned by the British, an Argentine firm had constructed a temporary runway near Stanley in advance of the building of a main runway at Stanley airport. The military "Líneas Aéreas del Estado" (LADE) airline flew regularly to the Falkland Islands. LADE was represented by Vice-Commodore Hector Gilobert in Port Stanley and he had been gathering intelligence for four years. The cargo ship ARA "Isla de los Estados" was hired for commercial purposes by the island administration, and her captain Capaglio had detailed information on the Falkland coast, beaches and inner waters.