The Swedish Coast Guard detained the ship Caffa in the Baltic Sea. Most of the crew are Russian citizens, and the ship is likely carrying stolen Ukrainian grain.
Caffa was seized on March 6, after prolonged observation by Swedish authorities. The ship, sailing under the flag of Guinea, previously sailed under the Russian flag and was not registered in any country. The main reason for the detention was the suspicion of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, according to reports by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, citing the police and the Coast Guard.
President of the National Operations Department of the Police Johan Andersson reported that the crew has already been interrogated. An investigation is currently underway regarding violations of the Maritime Code due to the ship’s unseaworthiness. According to Daniel Stenling, Deputy Head of the Coast Guard’s Operations Department, operations on board may last several days.
“We have found that Caffa is sailing under a false flag. There is information that the ship is on Ukraine’s sanctions list for transporting stolen grain,” Stenling noted during a press conference.
The detention followed a series of incidents involving Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” which carries out transport through Swedish waters, posing a potential danger to the region. This became part of a larger issue faced by European countries in the context of continued sanction pressures on Russia.
| Incidents | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Detention of the Caffa ship | March 6, 2023 | Suspicion of transporting stolen grain |
| Detention of Marinera | January 2026 | Seized by American authorities |
