Washington is concerned by a Russian cargo ship\u2019s visit to a naval base in South Africa, an official has told the WSJ
\nRelations between Washington and Pretoria have become strained after a Russian cargo ship visited South Africa\u2019s largest naval base last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The country\u2019s defense minister said the US had been pressuring African nations over any links with Moscow, according to the outlet.
\nWashington is\u00a0\u201cconcerned by the support the South African Armed Forces provided to the \u2018Lady R\u2019,\u201d\u00a0a senior US official told the WSJ, referring to a Russian vessel that was sanctioned in May over its alleged involvement in arms shipments for Moscow.
\nIn early December, the ship was allowed to enter Simon\u2019s Town navy base with its transponders turned off and freely move cargo there, the report claimed.\u00a0\u201cThere is no publicly available information on the source of the containers that were loaded onto the \u2018Lady R\u2019,\u201d\u00a0the official said.
\nThe outlet cited comments made by South African Defense Minister Thandi Modise last month regarding the visit of \u2018Lady R\u2019. She declined to reveal what cargo the ship was carrying, only saying that\u00a0\u201cwhatever contents this vessel was getting were ordered long before Covid,\u201d\u00a0which emerged in late 2019.
\nWashington\u00a0\u201cthreatens Africa, not just South Africa, of having anything that is even smelling of Russia,\u201d\u00a0Modise said, as quoted by the WSJ.
\nThe article noted that, under the US law, Washington can place sanctions on any entity that provides services to a black-listed ship.
\nDarren Olivier, who heads African Defense Review consulting company, told the outlet it was plausible that the \u2018Lady R\u2019 was bringing an old order of Russian ammunition to South Africa. Moscow and Pretoria agreed a shipment of 4.5 million rounds of Russian ammunition worth around $585,000 back in 2020, he said.
\nAs for what was loaded on the ship, Olivier pointed out that\u00a0\u201cSouth Africa\u2019s defense industry does not generally produce armaments and complete systems that are used by the Russian military.\u201d\u00a0However, he said Moscow could be interested in dual-use items, including guidance systems and optics for aerial drones.<\/p>\n