Amid the brouhaha about possible arms exports to Russia, at least one thing is clear: if the Russians intended a discreet ammo transfer, they picked the wrong suburb.
Simon’s Town is a hillside of nosy neighbours and high-calibre binoculars, where no visiting baboon goes unnoticed.
Enter a mystery Russian ship for a late-night cargo transfer under floodlights, while the rest of town has load-shedding.
“It was the only show in town that night,” said veteran military analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman this week of the visit of the Russian-flagged Lady R on December 6 last year.
“It unloaded at night under floodlights when the rest of Simon’s Town was blacked out.”
Just in case anybody wasn’t paying attention, the government sent in some heavily armed military personnel and flashing lights, prompting immediate social media coverage.
Lady R’s movements were duly scrutinised and discussed, with locals swapping gossip and cargo-handling theories.
“They offloaded the ship last night,” said one local resident. “We were coming home to Simon's Town at 9.45pm and as we drove into town, there were two large trucks with blue containers on them and an additional truck with a crane.
"At around 11pm they went in and started loading the containers onto the ship. They also took stuff off the ship which I am told is going to Armscor.”
Another resident claimed he was chased away: “I went down around midnight to take a picture of the truck that was leaving and an undercover vehicle chased me through the streets of Simon's Town — I had to switch off my lights and put-foot to lose the guy — that was scary! In my pyjamas!
"Then around 1am a third truck arrived and, as previously, had a big blue container that was put on to the ship.”
It was the only show in town that night. It unloaded at night under floodlights when the rest of Simon’s Town was blacked out
— Helmoed-Römer Heitman
Multiple sources confirmed cargo handling aboard the ship, much of it late at night in the presence of armed guards.
One witness told the Sunday Times he boarded the vessel and had seen equipment in the hold.
“We were surprised to see that ship there. I looked into the hold and there were a lot of sealed boxes and other goods wrapped in clear plastic ... Looked like engine blocks ... fairly big stuff,” the source said.
Notably, almost all the talk was of cargo coming off, not going on.
More than two weeks later, defence & military veterans minister Thandi Modise said the cargo offloaded was “an old, outstanding order for ammunition used by the special forces”.
Heitman said he doubted an outgoing arms consignment would have slipped through Simon’s Town’s impressive spy network.
“I haven’t come across anybody who saw any big cargo being loaded,” he said this week, adding that air freight would be the more logical route for sensitive weaponry. “I doubt whether they would sneak it on in Simon’s Town.”
Lady R’s seemingly unscheduled movements were inconsistent with a planned arms shipment, Heitman said.
Marine traffic information shows the vessel changed its scheduled destination after the two-day stopover in Simon’s Town. It was originally supposed to call at Dar es Salaam.
Responding to queries at the time, the Transnet National Port Authority said it had been out of the loop. Spokesperson Lorraine Mabindisa said the authority had no jurisdiction over the Simon’s Town naval base.
Military sources this week said South African-made military equipment was largely unsuited to Russian needs, whereas an arms import was a far more plausible explanation for the Lady R’s visit given the numerous reports of containers coming off the ship.
“The vehicles and containers were parked at the [naval] sports field for some time so I doubt that explosives or so-called rocket fuel were in them,” said a Simon’s Town maritime expert, citing speculation about cargo items.
“If it was cargo being landed, I cannot see any big problem. If being loaded, the small amount would not suggest weapons, and I know of few items we make that could make any difference to the Russian forces in a full-out war. The only thing I could think of is some Western electronics or components which they could no longer get.”
Commenting at the time of the ship’s visit, DA defence spokesperson Kobus Marais said offloaded cargo had been transported to an ammunition depot.
Why was this done in such secrecy? If there were import and export permits for ammunition and weapons, why the secrecy?
— DA defence spokesperson Kobus Marais
“It came to South Africa to offload and there are rumours that some stuff was loaded onto the vessel as well. This vessel is known in the West … as a vessel that transports defence equipment and ammunition,” Marais said.
“That is the reason it was on the sanctioned list. Again, we know that stuff was offloaded, that stuff was transported.
"The question remains: why was this done in such secrecy? If there were import and export permits for ammunition and weapons, why the secrecy?”
Commenting this week, a prominent military expert who asked not to be named said the saga had plunged the government into a credibility crisis, particularly in light of its recent efforts to secure preferential trade access to the huge US market.
The inquiry into the incident, announced this week, was an attempt at reputation management.
“We have to take that inquiry seriously because it is obviously the turn of the South African government to re-establish its credibility in these matters,” the source said.
— Additional reporting Philani Nombembe
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