Cargo was unloaded, not loaded, from ‘Lady R’ in Simon’s Town – expert

As American anger over alleged South African arms exports to Russia threatens to badly hurt SA’s economy, there is still no clarity on what was loaded, or unloaded, from the Russian cargo ship at the centre of the controversy.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said SA categorically denied there had been any government-authorised sales of weapons to Russia. But she also left open the possibility that any such shipment may have been illegal.

“There is no official authorisation for weapons to be sold to Russia and Ukraine. Whether weapons were loaded or not; that’s another matter. There is no authorisation and if the weapons were loaded in the vessel, the inquiry will determine that.

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“And those people who’ve done that will then face the consequences. But there was no authorisation,” she told Radio 702.

No cargo loaded to Russia

Defence expert Helmoed Römer Heitman said: “I have not come across anyone who reported seeing cargo brought into Simon’s Town and loaded. A lot of people saw the unloading and the trucks that carried the landed cargo out of Simon’s Town.”

His remarks supported comments made last year by Defence Minister Thandi Modise about the visit to the Simon’s Town naval base by the Russian cargo ship, Lady R, She described the incoming shipment “an old, outstanding order for ammunition used by the Special Forces”.

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SA Special Forces use a variety of Western and former Soviet weaponry. The latter are often more suitable to African conditions.

Heitman said he could not “think of anything we make that the Russians would need for their war”, adding that he believed “we never made any substantial sales to Russia in the past and pretty sure we have not done so now”.

Smuggling

He also left the door open to another possibility – of SA acting as “middleman” or transit point for arms shipments to Russia while the US and Europe had imposed sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine last year.

“It is possible that dual-use stuff could be smuggled via SA, with or without government knowledge,” said Heitman.

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Ntshavheni said: “In conducting business, local arms manufacturers like Denel are governed by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee within the framework of the National Conventional Arms Control Act.”

The row between SA and the US was sparked by a press conference called this week by Washington’s ambassador, Reuben Brigety II, who claimed the Lady R docked at Simon’s Town to upload weapons and ammunition for Russia.

‘Extraordinary comments’

He said he would “bet his life” on the accuracy of his information. His comments were extraordinary because governments seldom negotiate in public.

He warned: “It is unclear yet what Congress will do with Agoa [the African Growth and Opportunity Act] at large, or what it will do with South Africa in the context of Agoa. Majority of both the House and Senate have to pass this legislation.

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“One should imagine any US Senate or any US Congress reading this document during the debate whether or not Agoa should be renewed and whether or not SA should be in-cluded in Agoa.”

In response, the SA department of international relations and cooperation said it would register a demarche, or official protest, against Brigety.

Minister Naledi Pandor was also going to speak to her US counterpart, Secretary Antony Blinken, yesterday, the department said.

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Ukraine embassy spokesperson Oksana Rozumna said the embassy “is about to request an urgent meeting with the minister of defence and military veterans, regarding this issue”.

– brians@citizen.co.za