South African MPS suspect government is selling arms to Putin from sanctioned ship

SOUTH AFRICAN MPS have demanded to know whether the government is selling arms to Russia after a cargo ship sanctioned for its role in Moscow’s war effort docked at a navy base near Cape Town.

The Lady R, a Russian-flagged vehicle and container carrier, was spotted in South Africa’s Simon’s Town naval port on Thursday night.

The vessel was seen offloading and then taking on cargo during one of the regular power cuts that affect the country, the Daily Maverick, a South African paper, reported, citing local witnesses who photographed it in the port.

Witnesses saw the vessel leaving port at about 6.30am yesterday, local media reported. The ship’s transponder was switched off later in the day, meaning its exact whereabouts were unknown.

Kobus Marais, the defence spokesman for the opposition DA, said he had written to Thandi Modise, the defence minister, to demand and explanation.

He said: “[Mr Modise] must explain … what a sanctioned Russian ship is doing at the Simon’s Town naval base and why there is so much secrecy surrounding it.

Evidence suggests that over the last two nights there was unusual activity in the harbour with on-board cranes offloading cargo from the Russian commercial vessel onto trucks.

“This behaviour has local residents worried because the vessel is under sanctions by the US and European Union after Russia invaded Ukraine.”

The South African defence ministry has not commented on the ship’s visit.

The US sanctioned Transmorflot, the firm that operates the ship, in May, saying the Lady R had been used to transport weapons for Russian. Transmorflot was approached for comment