Sweden has seized the Caffa, a vessel belonging to the shadow fleet, which was en route to Russia
The decision to confiscate the vessel Caffa was taken following a request for legal assistance from another state conducting a preliminary investigation into a suspected offence. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has not disclosed the name of the country, according to the Sweden Herald.
Prosecutor Håkan Larsson noted that a foreign authority had requested that investigative measures be carried out in Sweden, specifically in relation to this vessel. According to him, the confiscation will allow the court to consider the possibility of transferring the vessel to another state.
The vessel was detained on 6 March in the Baltic Sea near Trelleborg on suspicion of violating international shipping regulations. According to the Swedish police, it was sailing under a false flag and is suspected of violating maritime law and legislation on vessel safety.
The Coast Guard reported that the vessel is on Ukraine’s sanctions list. There was also information that it may have been used to transport grain which, according to available data, had been exported from Ukraine.
One of the crew members has been charged with violating national and international legislation. Most of the 11 crew members are Russian nationals.
The ship’s captain had previously been detained but was later released.
