Sweden’s coast guard said Friday that it took control of a Guinea-flagged cargo ship bound for St. Petersburg over suspected safety and seaworthiness violations.
“Based on national and international legislation, the Coast Guard considers the vessel Caffa, under the Guinean flag, to be stateless,” the Swedish Coast Guard said in a statement.
Ship-tracking data shows the Caffa departed from Casablanca and was heading to St. Petersburg. Authorities said the vessel was seized off the coast of Trelleborg in southern Sweden.
Images released by the coast guard showed a helicopter landing on the ship and personnel boarding to take control of the vessel.
Sweden’s coast guard said it was planning to search the ship and question crew members, with the main focus of the investigation being a suspected “lack of seaworthiness.”
There was no immediate response from Russia.
Western governments have seized a growing number of ships linked to Russia in recent months over alleged violations, including sanctions breaches and suspected sabotage operations.
Earlier this week, a suspected Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker was seized by Belgium on a 10 million euro ($12 million) bond after inspections found safety infractions.
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