The Lady R incident, also known as #LadyRussiagate, refers to the docking of the sanctioned Russian cargo ship Lady R at Simon's Town Naval Base in South Africa in December 2022 and the resulting diplomatic impact. The ship was carrying military cargo.^[1] The incident is controversial for the secretive nature of the docking^[2][3] and an allegation by the United States ambassador to South Africa that South African military supplies were loaded onto the ship for use in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.^[4][5][6]

The Lady R is a Russian flagged roll-on/roll-off type cargo ship built in 2004 by the Türkiye Gemi Shipbuilding company in Istanbul, Turkey.^[7] Prior to 2019, it was named the "Sloman Producer."^[7] It has a typical draught of 4.4 meters, a length of 123 meters and a beam of 19 meters. The ship uses a 5760 kW MAN-B&W type engine.^[7] It uses the call sign UBDT8 and has the IMO / MMSI numbers 9161003 / 273212120.^[7][8] The ship has a recorded gross tonnage of 7260 and a summer dead-weight of 7630 tons.^[7][8] As of 2024, its registered home port is Astrakhan, Russia.^[7]

Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine wide-ranging sanctions were imposed on Russia by the United States, Canada, and numerous countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. On 8 May 2022 the Lady R was listed as one of two Russian cargo ships sanctioned by the United States for its involvement in the transport of munitions from North Korea to the Russian Federation in support of Russia's invasion.^[9]

Prior to the December 2022 docking of the Lady R in Simon's Town, the South African government's position on the invasion of Ukraine had drawn criticism for being unofficially friendly towards Russia whilst official neutral.^[10][11][12] Although South Africa initially condemned Russia's invasion^[13] it retracted the statement and instead declared official neutrality.^[14] Despite the invasion and resulting international diplomatic condemnation Russian-South Africa relations have remained strong^[15] with South Africa being one of 35 countries to abstain from a subsequent United Nations vote demanding that Russia withdraw from Ukraine.^[16]

The country's governing political party since 1994, the African National Congress (ANC), has been criticized by some in South Africa for being too supportive of Russia.^[17][18] The ANC received $826,000 from United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) mines in 2022, a company that Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg and the ANC party's investment arm, Chancellor House, have invested in.^[19][20]

In October 2022 the Lady R started its voyage from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk^[21] en route to the port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.^[22] Sometime between 8 pm and 10 pm on Tuesday, 6 December 2022, halfway through its circumnavigation of Africa, the Lady R docked at the Naval Base in Simon's Town, South Africa.^[23][3] The ship had turned off its marine tracking system south of Agulhas on 5 December 2022,^[22] and its arrival was unexpected and controversial.^[3][24] The ship was loaded and unloaded with cargo under armed guard at night under the cover of darkness as the country experienced a planned national rolling blackout^[2] on 8 December.^[25] The ship left early the next day on Friday, 9 December 2022^[2][26][24] and completed its journey to Dar es Salaam in February 2023.^[21] The docking was shrouded in secrecy, and neither the South African nor Russian governments commented on it at the time.^{[24][27][2][26]}

There was significant speculation at the time about whether or not this was an instance of South Africa supplying weapons to Russian forces in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Two weeks later, following repeated questions about the docking, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise stated that the Lady R was offloading an old, outstanding order for ammunition.^[1][28]

Witnesses observed that 6 shipping containers were loaded on to the ship before midnight on 8 December just prior to its departure.^[29]

The Lady R's arrival in South Africa came at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine^[2] and South Africa's unwillingness to criticize the invasion despite its policy of supporting a rules based international order.^[30]

On 11 May 2023, the United States ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, accused the country of supplying arms to Russia during the December 2022 docking of the Lady R.^[4] During the same announcement, ambassador Brigety also stated that the ANC, the governing political party of South Africa, had been unresponsive to repeated American attempts at dialogue and that the ANC's policy document on the war in Ukraine was "hostile" to the government of the United States.^[5][31][32] Ambassador Brigety went on to say that this indicated that South Africa was "not non-aligned",^[33] contrary to South Africa's officially proclaimed non-aligned position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[33]

The docking of the Lady R, along with other incidents of South Africa-Russia cooperation, further strained South Africa's relationship with the US and other Western countries whilst increasing skepticism in the West of South Africa's self-proclaimed non-aligned or neutral position on the war in Ukraine.^[34][35] Prior to ambassador Brigety's accusation South Africa had also hosted the naval exercise Mosi II with Russia and China which coincided with the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,^[36][34] and allowed the secretive landing of a US-sanctioned Russian cargo aircraft at the Waterkloof Air Force Base.^[34][37]

Roughly two weeks before ambassador Brigety's accusation, South Africa had sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to advocate for the continuation of the country's inclusion in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),^[38] during which the American government claims they had raised concerns with the South African delegation about the country arming Russia.^[4]

South Africa denied the allegation and stated that the country's interaction with the Lady R was consistent with its non-aligned position on the war in Ukraine.^[39] South African President and President of the ANC Cyril Ramaphosa stated that an independent inquiry would be launched to investigate Brigety's accusation.^[40][41][42] South Africa démarched ambassador Brigety and claimed that Bridgety later apologized for the statement.^[43][44] Following the accusation, South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had informed him in February 2023 of American suspicions that South Africa had supplied arms and ammunition to Russia when the Lady R docked.^[45]

Four days after ambassador Brigety's accusation, the commander of Russia's ground forces, general Oleg Salyukov, met with chief of the South African army lieutenant general Lawrence Mbatha to discuss issues of military cooperation and combat readiness.^[46][35] South Africa denied that the meeting was connected to the diplomatic incident resulting from the Lady R docking and stated that the trip was planned before Brigety's statement.^[46][35]

At an ANC political event, President Ramaphosa later stated that his government found Brigety's accusation "distasteful" and as "an attack"^[47][48] on South Africa by not following normal diplomatic processes but stated that talks with the ambassador thereafter were cordial.^[48][45]

South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, accused the ANC government of secretly supplying weapons to Russia in return for secret funding for the ANC's re-election campaign in the 2024 general election.^[49] Stating that unless one considered the possibility of Russian funding for the ANC, South Africa's support for Russia in its war against Ukraine "made no sense."^[49] South Africa's third largest political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, rejected the accusation,^[50] called for the immediate dismissal of ambassador Brigety,^[51] accused the US of spreading propaganda,^[52] and stated that if "guns [...] were given to Russia [then] it was a good thing."^[53]

The South African civil society group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) demanded that the South African government publicly share information on what cargo was loaded onto the Lady R and be more transparent about South African arms sales generally.^[51] The South African academic and criminologist Guy Lamb asserted that, assuming South Africa acted in accordance with its own laws, it was highly unlikely that South Africa loaded arms or ammunition onto the Lady R.^[54]

The diplomatic incident caused speculation over whether the United States would be continuing South Africa's preferential trade status with the country through the AGOA,^[5][6][55] thereby possibly inflicting significant damage to South Africa's economy.^[56][57] There was also speculation that the incident might also threaten the continued status of PEPFAR in South Africa.^[58] The value of the South African Rand declined from R18.8 per US dollar on 10 May to R19.3 per dollar by 18 May,^[59] a decline that was attributed to the incident.^[59][60] In May 2023, South African Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise insisted "there was fokol [Afrikaans: nothing] on that ship".^[61]

At least two South African journalists stated that if the claims are proven false, Ambassador Brigety should be either ousted or punished for making unsubstantiated claims.^[62][63]

Russia responded by stating that their government "expressed their intention to further intensify mutually beneficial relations" in a possible attempt to exploit the situation.^[43] The Russian government later described ambassador Brigety's accusation as "totally fabricated and as false"^[64] whilst comparing it to Colin Powell's 2003 presentation to United Nations Security Council falsely accusing Iraq of having WMDs.^[64]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the incident by stating that he had spoken with President Ramaphosa two days after ambassador Brigety's accusation about "the peace formula [for the war], about justice, and about how our world should be united by the rules of international law."^[65][66] President Zelensky also stated that “anyone who helps the aggressor [Russia] with weapons will be an accomplice with all consequences” in possible reference to the event.^[65][66]

In May 2023, Ramaphosa named a three-person panel to investigate the incident.^[67] The South African government published the executive summary of the findings but kept the full report secret arguing that it needed to maintain military security.^[68][69] The inquiry, headed by former judge Phineas Mojapelo,^[70] found that whilst the ship had delivered weapons from Russia to South Africa, there was "no evidence to support the claim that the ship transported weapons from South Africa destined for Russia."^[71][68]

The inquiry also found that the South African government was unaware that the sanctioned Russian ship was heading to South Africa until it neared South African waters and that it was redirected to Naval Base Simon's Town after the port at Ngqura-Port Elizabeth refused to service the sanctioned ship.^[72] The inquiry also noted the role of the United Arab Emirates in facilitating the weapons transaction,^[70] and that the ship had turned off its identification transponder as it was being tracked by unnamed foreign intelligence agencies.^[72] The inquiry concluded that because the US sanctions were not endorsed by the United Nations, they were not binding on South Africa.^[72]

According to journalist Thulani Mpofu, "A South African government inquiry into whether weapons were loaded onto a Russian ship in December 2022, as claimed by a US diplomat, has established that a European company had in fact been uploading food onto the vessel."^[73]

Both the South African and US governments sought to smooth relations following the publication of the inquiry.^[69] The US government stated that it appreciated the South African government's interest in investigating the incident but made no comment on the finding of the inquiry.^[71][69] The director of the African Defence Review, Darren Olivier, stated that the inquiry's findings raised "more questions than it answers" and that it was unlikely that it would close the issue.^[70] Since docking in South Africa, the Lady R has reportedly docked multiple times at North Korean ports, allegedly (by the United States) transporting weaponry and military equipment to Russia to be used in support of that country's invasion of Ukraine.^[74]

• Russia–South Africa relations
• South Africa–United States relations
• South Africa–Ukraine relations
• Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident

v t e Political history of South Africa
Defunct polities	Kingdom of Mapungubwe (c. 1075–c. 1220) Dutch Cape Colony (1652–1806) Mthethwa Paramountcy (c. 1780–1817) Ndwandwe Kingdom (c. 1780–1819) Cape Colony (1795–1910) Zulu Kingdom (1816–1897) Natalia Republic (1839–1843) Natal Colony (1843–1910) Orange Free State (1854–1902) South African Republic (1856–1902) Griqualand East (1861–1879) Griqualand West (1870–1873) Goshen (1882–1883) Stellaland (1882–1885) Nieuwe Republiek (1884–1888) Upingtonia (1885–1887) Klein Vrystaat (1886–1891) Orange River Colony (1902–1910) Transvaal Colony (1902–1910) Union of South Africa (1910–1961) Transkei (1976–1994) Bophuthatswana (1977–1994) Venda (1979–1994) Ciskei (1981–1994)
Events	Pre-colonial Bantu migrations Battle of Salt River 1652–1815 Dutch settlement French Huguenot settlement Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars Xhosa Wars Battle of Muizenberg Battle of Blaauwberg Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 1815–1910 Mfecane 1820 Settlers Great Trek Boer Republics Transvaal Civil War Mineral Revolution Witwatersrand Gold Rush South African Wars South Africa Act 1909 (National Convention) 1910–1948 South West Africa campaign Maritz rebellion Rand Rebellion Great Depression 1946 African Mine Workers' Union strike Bantustans Apartheid 1948 general election Apartheid legislation Pass laws Internal resistance Coloured-vote constitutional crisis Defiance Campaign Congress of the People Freedom Charter Women's March 1956 1957 Alexandra bus boycott Sharpeville massacre 1960 republic referendum International isolation UN Resolution 1761 UNSC Resolution 591 Academic boycott Disinvestment Constructive engagement Tar Baby Option Sporting boycott Olympics Rugby union Rivonia Trial Durban Moment Border War Mafeje affair Soweto Uprising Weapons of mass destruction Project Coast Church Street bombing 1983 constitutional referendum Langa massacre Rubicon speech Operation Vula Dakar Conference Transkei coup d'état Ciskei coup d'état Venda coup d'état Third Force CODESA Storming of the Kempton Park World Trade Centre Bisho massacre 1992 apartheid referendum Saint James Church massacre Bophuthatswana crisis Shell House massacre Post- apartheid 1994 general election Government of National Unity Reconstruction and Development Programme Truth and Reconciliation Commission Arms Deal Floor crossing Soweto bombings African Renaissance Travelgate Xenophobia Attack on Kennedy Road Blikkiesdorp Marikana massacre 2012 Western Cape farm workers' strike Nkandlagate Racism 2014 platinum strike #RhodesMustFall protests #FeesMustFall student protests Tshwane riots 2019 service delivery protests 2019 Johannesburg riots COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Phala Phala Robbery 2021 unrest Lady R incident
Political culture	African nationalism Afrikaner Calvinism Afrikaner nationalism Anarchism Azania Baasskap Boerehaat Black Consciousness Movement Cape Independence Day of the Vow Greater South Africa Honorary whites Rooi gevaar Slavery Swart gevaar Uitlander Volkstaat
Defunct organisations	Civic and political organisations Afrikaner Bond Afrikaner Broederbond Afrikaner Party AITUP APO AVF BPC Black Sash Boerestaat Party CDA CNIP CTEG COD Congress Alliance COSG CP DLF Dominion Party DP (1973–1977) DP (1989–2000) DPP DSM ECC FA FD Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners GNP Het Volk HNP (Herenigde) HNP (Herstigte) IDASA ID IP ISL Jeugkrag Johannesburg Reform Committee Labour Party (1910–1958) Labour Party (1969–1994) Liberal Party (1953–1968) NA NCP Natal Indian Congress NLP NNP NP NPP NRP NUSAS Occupy Orangia Unie Oranjewerkers Orde Boerevolk PAVN PFP Progressive Party (Cape Colony) Progressive Party PRP Radio Freedom Reform Party SABP SADECO SAIC SASO SAYCO SAYRCO South African Party (Cape Colony) South African Party (1911–1934) South African Party (1977–1980) TNIP Torch Commando UFP United Party Unionist Party Volksparty Workers Party WOSA Trade unions and social movements APF BCM BLATU CNETU CTSWU FCWU FNETU FOSATU ICU IWW MUSA NEUM NURHS PAWE SAAPAWU SACTU SAIF SARHU SATUC Die Spoorbund UDF Umkosi Wezintaba Paramilitary and terrorist organisations APLA ARM AWB BBB Boeremag Greyshirts MK Ossewabrandwag Orde van die Dood PAGAD SANF
Histories of political parties	African National Congress Democratic Alliance Pan Africanist Congress of Azania
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v t e Russia–United States relations
Diplomatic posts	Embassy of Russia, Washington, D.C. Ambassadors of Russia to the United States Russian ambassador's residence Embassy of the United States, Moscow Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Spaso House Consulate-General of Russia, Houston Consulate-General of Russia, New York City John Henry Hammond House Consulate-General of Russia, San Francisco Elmcroft Estate Lothrop Mansion Pioneer Point Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations Killenworth Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Diplomacy	Operation Provide Hope 1998 Moscow Summit 2001 Slovenia Summit 2005 Slovakia Summit 5+2 format Russian reset Obama–Medvedev Commission Syrian civil war U.S.–Russia peace proposals Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons 2017 St. Petersburg raid 2018 Helsinki summit 2021 Geneva summit Arctic Council Arctic Ocean Conference Ilulissat Declaration Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission The U.S. Russia Investment Fund U.S.–Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs Moscow–Washington hotline Shuttle–Mir program Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Exercise RIMPAC International Space Station
Incidents	Kildin Island submarine incident Kola Peninsula submarine incident Norwegian rocket incident Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident Itar-Tass Russian News Agency v. Russian Kurier, Inc. Kidnapping of Mormon missionaries Pristina airport incident Russian Guantanamo Bay detainees RM Broadcasting Illegals Program Stephen Holmes European Deterrence Initiative Operation Atlantic Resolve Russian interference in United States elections 2016 Links between Trump associates and Russian officials Steele dossier Maria Butina 2018 2020 Donald Trump's disclosures of classified information Havana syndrome Zersetzung Battle of Khasham Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal Arrest of Trevor Reed Russian bounty program Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange Black Sea drone incident Russian spies in the Russo-Ukrainian War 2022–2023 Pentagon document leaks Lady R incident
Legislation	Jackson–Vanik amendment Russian foreign agent law Magnitsky Act Dima Yakovlev Law Guantanamo List Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 Russian undesirable organizations law Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines Act Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act Russian–Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act Task Force KleptoCapture Executive Order 14071
Treaties	START II START III Mutual detargeting Megatons to Megawatts Program Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty New START
Related	Russian Empire–United States relations Soviet Union–United States relations NATO–Russia relations Anti-American sentiment in Russia Bush legs Center on Global Interests Congress of Russian Americans Anglo-American School of Moscow United States military and prostitution in South Korea Russian Mission School in New York Russian Embassy School in Washington, D.C. Russian Cultural Center International Launch Services U.S. Russia Foundation U.S.–Russia Business Council Stanford US–Russia Forum Space Flight Europe-America 500 Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition Territorial claims in the Arctic United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine New Great Game Second Cold War Not One Inch
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v t e Ukraine–United States relations
Diplomatic posts	Embassy of Ukraine, Washington, D.C. Ambassadors of Ukraine to the United States Forrest-Marbury House Embassy of the United States, Kyiv Ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Diplomacy	5+2 format European Deterrence Initiative Operation Atlantic Resolve California–Ukraine National Guard Partnership Hollywood Trident Foundation Congressional Ukrainian Caucus Senate Ukraine Caucus Ukrainian Congress Committee of America 2022 visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States 2023 visit by Joe Biden to Ukraine
Incidents	Chicken Kiev speech Trump–Ukraine scandal‎ Conspiracy theories Impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump 2022 Spain letter bomb attacks
Legislation	Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 Ukraine Support Act United States International Programming to Ukraine and Neighboring Regions Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022
Related	Holodomor Genocide Memorial United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative 2022–2023 Pentagon document leaks Lady R incident Impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden
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