Sweden has detained a second tanker from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea
The Swedish Coast Guard detained the tanker Sea Owl I, flying the Comoros flag, in the Baltic Sea near the town of Trelleborg.
Coastguard officers, together with the police, boarded the vessel and began checking its seaworthiness.
According to the agency, the tanker is not registered in the Swedish ship register, is sailing under a false flag and has been on the European Union’s sanctions list since 24 October 2025 in connection with Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. The EU classifies it as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
Daniel Stenling, Deputy Head of the Coast Guard’s Operations Division, stated that the risk of safety breaches on board the vessel is high.
“Our overall assessment is that the risk of security breaches on board is high. On this basis, the vessel cannot be granted safe passage,” he noted.
According to the Coast Guard, in recent years the tanker has been transporting petroleum products between Russia and Brazil. There was no cargo on board at the time of the detention. The vessel was en route from Brazil to Primorsk in Russia.
According to the vessel tracking service MarineTraffic, the tanker had left the port of Santos and was heading for Tallinn.
The incident was the second such case in the Baltic Sea in a short space of time.
On 6 March, the Swedish Coast Guard detained the dry cargo ship Caffa, which was sailing along the country’s southern coast under the flag of Guinea and heading for St Petersburg.
During the operation, a police helicopter dropped officers onto the vessel, after which the coastguard and police took control of it.
Swedish Minister for Civil Defence Carl Oskar Bolin stated that the vessel is subject to Ukrainian sanctions. According to him, the vessel’s ownership structure is unclear, and there are also suspicions regarding a lack of insurance.
He noted that the vessel had previously flown the Russian flag but had subsequently changed it to the Guinean flag.
The Ukrainian side suspects that the dry cargo ship was being used to transport grain from Crimea, which has been annexed by Russia. At the time of its detention, the vessel was also carrying grain and was heading for St Petersburg.
According to Carl Oscar Bolin, the investigation must establish whether the vessel meets the requirements for being in Swedish waters.
The Swedish Coast Guard has reported that it is conducting an investigation into suspected violations of maritime law. The Swedish authorities believe the vessel may be unseaworthy.
A possible link between the vessel and Russia’s shadow fleet is also being investigated.
Russia’s shadow fleet consists mainly of old vessels that operate outside Western insurance and registration systems. Russia uses such vessels to circumvent European Union sanctions imposed following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In May 2025, the Swedish authorities announced stricter insurance checks on foreign vessels in connection with the activities of the Russian shadow fleet.
From 1 July, the Swedish Coast Guard and the Swedish Maritime Administration were granted the authority to collect insurance information not only from vessels calling at Swedish ports, but also from those passing through the country’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
