Russia ships military equipment to Africa on civilian vessels carrying possible undercover intelligence officers, investigation finds
Russia is using civilian cargo ships to ferry military equipment to Africa, and some of the vessels are carrying passengers with forged passports who may be Russian intelligence officers, according to a joint investigation by the outlets Dossier Center, Follow the Money, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Danwatch and Delfi.
Journalists reviewed records for roughly 2,000 ships and identified 28 passengers whose names, dates of birth and passport numbers do not appear in any other available database. All of them travelled on seven cargo vessels that were carrying Russian military hardware. Experts and European intelligence sources believe the passengers may have been travelling under cover identities.
“Usually people who turn up no other matches [in databases, registries and leaks] are our colleagues [from Russia]. It would be highly unusual for anyone else to use fake IDs,” a source from a European country’s intelligence service told the reporters.
Experts interviewed by the journalists said the passengers could be Russian intelligence officers or employees of Russian defence companies. Their role may be to keep control of the crews and ensure the ships do not stop at the request of European militaries, the experts said.
In March 2026, the Russian cargo ship Sabetta delivered about 50 military vehicles, including armoured cars and fuel trucks, to the port of Conakry in Guinea, Dossier Center reported. From there, the equipment was sent on to Mali, where units of Russia’s Africa Corps are stationed. The ship also carried four passengers who were likely travelling on forged documents.
Other vessels carried equipment to Libya, Togo and Equatorial Guinea. Some had previously been used in Russian Arctic projects, shipped weapons to Syria and taken part in deliveries of Iranian munitions. During voyages, the ships periodically switched off their location-tracking systems, and some shipments were escorted by Russian warships, the journalists said.
