Sanctioned Russian Ship's Mysterious South Africa Stop Raises Concerns Among U.S. Officials

In an unprecedented development, a sanctioned Russian merchant ship turned off its transponder and snuck into South Africa's largest naval base. It raised serious concerns among US officials, who are now seeking answers from the South African government about the purpose of ship's abrupt stop.

The sanctioned vessel known as The Lady R reportedly offloaded some mysterious cargo at Simon's Town Naval Base near Cape Town for two nights in December 2022 during nationwide power cuts, according to officials and witnesses, the Wall Street Journal Reported.

A US official told the outlet that "there's no publicly available information on the source of the containers that were loaded onto the Lady R."

Authorities in South Africa, meanwhile, have refused to disclose what type of cargo the ship carried or unloaded at the Simon's Town navy base. The country's defense minister further sternly dismissed U.S. concerns, saying "America threatens the rest of Africa, not just South Africa, of having anything that is even smelling of Russia."

"We do know, however, that whatever contents this vessel was getting, were ordered long before COVID-19 started, and therefore the reason you are interested and America is interested in that vessel, coming into our shores, is actually because America threatens the rest of Africa, not just South Africa, of having anything that is even smelling of Russia," Thandi Modise, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, had said at a news conference in December 2022, as per Daily Maverick.

"As far as they're concerned, we must consume all the Russian vodka quickly and if it is depleted you will be found wanting for drinking the Russian vodka," she added.

Modise also refused to answer detailed questions about Lady R, saying she didn't want to speculate on the contents of the vessel until she has all the paperwork.

The ship, which is owned by Russian company MG-FLOT (previously known as Transmorflot LLC), has been accused by the U.S. of transporting Russian arms and weapons. Upon docking at Simon's Town last month, the ship turned off its transponder, which tracks its location.

The question as to whether or not the sanctioned ship was carrying South African arms for Russia has been a hot topic of debate among officials. This suspicion was further fuelled by Modise's refusal to answer a parliamentary question from DA leader John Steenhuisen about whether or not South Africa is selling arms to Russia.