Hidden the cargo from the Russian vessel: South Africa refused to comply with the sanctions against Russia - the media
The publication writes that South Africa refused to report that he was transporting a ship or that it had been loaded on Simonstan's naval base. The Minister of Defense of South Africa has waved away from the US concern. The material says that the Lady R ship belongs to the Russian navigation company MG-Flot LLC. The fact that the ship was able to enter the port of South Africa with an unknown cargo indicates that it is difficult to control the compliance with sanctions against Russia.
A high-ranking US representative told reporters that Washington was concerned about the support provided by the Armed Forces of South Africa Lady R, in particular, permission to enter and move cargo on the naval base. Journalists write that the ship has been unloaded in the port of Simonstan within 2 days. It was these days that electricity was switched off throughout the country. "There is no information on filling the containers loaded on Lady R," the US representative said.
According to the deputy and a representative of protection against the opposition democratic alliance of South Africa, KOBUS MARE, he was told that Lady R was delivering ammunition from Russia. The United States imposed sanctions against Lady R and MG-Flot on May 8, 2022, when the company used Transmorflot LLC. Washington stated that the company and its vessels were supplied by the Russian government.
In November, when the US learned that the Lady R ship was heading to South Africa, the US Embassy warned the South African government that the ship is under sanctions. The publication writes that under US law, Washington can apply sanctions to any legal entity or country that provides services under sanctions. According to the official, the embassy did not answer its warning about Lady R from the South Africa Government.
It is reported that the courts of the courts show that Lady R has disconnected its automatic transponders, which transmit identification and location of the ship to other courts and maritime authorities. According to witnesses, two tugboats of the naval forces of South Africa helped him to get on the basis of Simonstan near Cape Town.
At a mass media briefing on December 22, the Defense Minister of Defense Modis said she was expecting to register documents with additional information about the shipment before she could comment on why Lady R was rolled on the base and that he was unloaded and loaded on the ship. According to her, the delivery order was placed before the coronavirus pandemic.
Darren Olivier, director of the analytical and consulting company African Defense Review, said that it is likely that Lady R delivered an old ammunition order from Russia. In 2020, South Africa allowed imports of 4. 5 million rounds from Russia worth about $ 585,000. "The defense industry of South Africa, as a rule, does not produce weapons and complex systems used by the Russian military," he said. According to him, it is unclear that they could download on the ship.
According to Olivier, Russia may be interested in dual -use goods such as guidance and management and optics that can be used for UAV production. Earlier, Focus wrote that in the United States was anxious that the Wagner Group was trying to influence in another country in Europe. Journalists write that Wagner Group began to place mercenaries in Serbian Belgrade to fight against the Russian diaspora against Putin.