Lady R.

This is coolbert:

Just from a month ago the arrival of the Russian flagged merchant vessel in Simon’s Town port South Africa causing a minor stir.

"Unexpected arrival of Russian ship in Simon’s Town raises eyebrows"

From South African "defenceWeb" | -8th Dec 2022. Thanks in part to the tip from Abe.

"The arrival of a Russian cargo ship in Simon’s Town, the home port of the SA Navy (SAN) fleet, is believed to be a 'ship in distress' event with no confirmation – as yet – from either the Navy or South African maritime authorities."

"The vessel, Lady R, is an 18-year-old roll-on/roll-off container carrier with a carrying gross tonnage of 7 260. She sails under the flag of the Russian Federation with her home port listed as Astrakhan."

"At least one South African media outlet has the Lady R as being sanctioned by the United States (US) Treasury Department since the war in Ukraine started earlier this year."

"Former SAN [South African Navy] officers told 'defenceWeb' while it was unusual for a commercial vessel to use the naval harbor it was 'accepted' for mechanical and other emergencies."

That speculation was at the time of docking was that the Lady R was going to load war munitions as needed for the Ukraine Conflict. Whatever type of munitions the South Africans had that the Russian did not have unspecified! [Lady R riding "high" in the water at docking!]

Now this:

"JOHANNESBURG— A Russian merchant ship [Lady R] whose owner has allegedly carried weapons for the Kremlin turned off its transponder last month before surreptitiously docking at South Africa’s largest naval base, where it delivered and loaded unidentified cargoes, according to witnesses and a senior U.S. official. South Africa has declined to say what the ship was carrying or what was loaded onto it at the Simon’s Town navy base. The country’s defense minister shrugged off U.S. concerns, saying Washington 'threatens Africa, not just South Africa, of having anything that is even smelling of Russia.'”

Neither confirmed or denied. Well, you might expect that! Lady R you will be watched!

coolbert.