A 2oceansviber spotted this vehicle at the cargo loading terminal of the Cape Town Harbour this morning.

The photo appears to show a small tank, or an armoured personnel carrier.

We put these questions to the Institute for Security Studies’ Cape Town office. We will update the story as soon as their response is available. [Update]: Guy Lamb was kind enough to answer our questions.

2OV: Who can assist in potentially identifying this vehicle?

GL: It is an armoured personnel carrier (APC), but the quality of the photo makes it difficult to determine the model and manufacturer. It is possible that it is being exported for demining purposes.

2OV: Is arms shipment to or from the Cape Town Harbour a relatively common occurrence?

GL: Yes, Cape Town harbour has been used to import and export arms in the past, but typically arms would be sealed in a secure container.

2OV: Could the arms be for private use or collection? If so, what are the restrictions regarding their shipment to or from South Africa?

GL: All arms exports/imports are governed by the National Conventional Arms Control Act. All conventional arms imported or exported require a permit from the SA government. It is possible, but unlikely that the APC is for private use, as the South African government typically only authorises government-to-government arms transfers.

2OV: Does the South African government export arms to it’s African neighbours?

GL: According to reports by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) (it is a cabinet committee), South Africa has not directly exported arms to Zimbabwe in recent years.

2OV: Given the current volatile political climate in Zimbabwe, Libya, and a number of other African countries, does the South African public have the right to know if the South African government is sending arms to neighbouring states?

GL: In terms of the Act, the NCACC, when considering arms export applications must adhere to a number of guiding principles, which include: avoid contributing to internal repression, including the systematic violation or suppression of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and avoid transfers of conventional arms to governments that systematically violate or suppress human rights and fundamental freedoms (amongst others). In addition, the Act requires the NCACC to present an annual publicly available report of arms exports to parliament, as well as classified quarterly reports to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans on arms export applications that are under consideration by the NCACC. In short, the Act makes allowance for the public ‘right to know’, but only after the arms have been exported.

Meanwhile, News24 has reported claims by the DA’s David Maynier that South Africa supplied arms to Libya in late 2010, including armoured personnel carriers.

Earlier, Democratic Alliance spokesperson David Maynier said in a statement that the DA understood that “more than 100 sniper rifles and more than 50 000 rounds of ammunition may have been exported to Libya in late 2010”.

On August 6 2009, NCACC chairperson Jeff Radebe had “admitted that Libya has purchased various weapons kinds from South Africa”, Maynier said.

The weapons systems appeared to have included 40mm multiple grenade launchers, Hercules C130 aircraft, and armoured personnel carriers, he said.

“However, in addition to this, we understand that more than 100 sniper rifles and more than 50 000 rounds of ammunition were exported to Libya in late 2010.”

This raised a serious question because there had been multiple reports that security forces used sniper rifles to fire on protesters in Libya.

“We understand that the export of the sniper rifles and ammunition was authorised by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee,” Maynier said.