The Swedish Coast Guard boarded the tanker Sea Owl off Trelleborg on Thursday evening, marking the third such intervention within a month against vessels suspected of sailing under false flags. The Sea Owl, which is 228 meters long, built in 2007, and flies the Comorian flag, is on the EU sanctions list and several other sanctions lists. The Coast Guard suspects the Sea Owl is sailing under a false flag and lacks proper registration. This operation involved coordination with the National Task Force, the Coast Guard's boarding group, and a police helicopter.
In the Sea Owl case, a prosecutor has initiated a preliminary investigation against the commander for suspected use of false documents and further violations of maritime law, according to senior prosecutor Adrien Combier-Hogg. The suspect is a Russian citizen, and no one is currently detained, Combier-Hogg added. The Sea Owl is suspected of being stateless and involved in transporting oil or other liquid fuels, according to research by Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin. The Coast Guard cannot confirm any connection between the Sea Owl and earlier boarded ships, noting different legal grounds for the operations, as stated by Coast Guard press chief Mattias Lindholm.
Earlier, on March 6, the Coast Guard boarded the cargo ship Caffa off Trelleborg, suspected of transporting grain stolen from Ukraine. Caffa, which is 96 meters long, 13 meters wide, and was transporting grain, flies the Guinean flag, which authorities suspect is false. The vessel had 11 crew members, with a majority being Russian, and one crew member has been detained on suspicion of serious crimes. Caffa's last port was Casablanca with destination Saint Petersburg, and it is on Ukraine's sanctions list.
The investigation into Caffa includes suspected violations of maritime law, ship safety law, and use of false documents. The Transport Agency has issued a use prohibition for Caffa due to serious deficiencies. Ukrainian intelligence links the Caffa to the transportation of agricultural goods loaded in the Russian-occupied port of Sevastopol in July 2025, according to a Ukrainian intelligence report. Swedish authorities are seeking the commander of Caffa for arrest on charges of using forged documents, according to research.
Greenpeace welcomes such interventions and tracks shadow fleet ships for environmental reasons, citing the danger of environmental disasters in case of accidents.
In another incident, the Coast Guard intercepted tanker Flora 1 suspected of causing an oil spill east of Gotland, with the spill discovered to be over 12 kilometers long. Flora 1, which has 24 crew members and is loaded with oil, is on the EU sanctions list. The tanker departed Primorsk, Russia on March 31st heading for Santos, Brazil flying the flag of Sierra Leone, and is suspected to belong to the Russian shadow fleet, as reported by numerous sources.
In the Flora 1 case, two crew members have been served suspicion of crime but are not detained, according to the Prosecution Authority. Flora 1 is now allowed to leave Sweden as suspicions did not lead to prosecution, the Coast Guard said.
Separately, the Coast Guard boarded a ship off Ystad for dumping coal residues into the sea. The ship, registered in Panama and heading to Las Palmas, Spain from Russia, is suspected of violating the Environmental Code.
The Coast Guard's operations demonstrate enhanced capabilities due to increased resources and a broadening of its mission, as Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin stated. This multi-agency coordination aims to address the growing threats posed by the shadow fleet.
The Coast Guard has higher capability today due to increased resources and a broadening of its mission, providing a better information picture.
Greenpeace filmed the Sea Owl passing Helsingborg's coast on March 12 and alerted the Maritime Administration and Coast Guard about the environmental risks, according to Greenpeace campaign leader Rolf Lindahl. However, the Coast Guard states that Greenpeace's alert did not affect the Sea Owl boarding operation, as they were already aware of the situation, according to Coast Guard press chief Mattias Lindholm.
Contextually, around 25 ships from the Russian shadow fleet traffic the Baltic Sea daily, according to officials. Many of these ships are in poor condition and pose an environmental threat, and Russia has increasingly begun escorting shadow fleet ships with warships and sometimes armed soldiers onboard, increasing the risk of incidents.
Legal and diplomatic implications remain fluid, with investigations ongoing and no detentions in the Sea Owl case. The Coast Guard cannot confirm any connection between the earlier ships (Caffa and Sea Owl) and the Flora 1, noting different legal grounds for the boardings.
Key unknowns persist, including what specific evidence supports the allegation that Caffa transported grain stolen from Ukraine, the current legal status and location of the detained crew member from Caffa, and the exact safety deficiencies found on the Sea Owl that led to the unseaworthiness investigation. Additionally, it is unknown how many other ships in the Baltic Sea are currently under suspicion by Swedish authorities as part of the shadow fleet, and what diplomatic or legal repercussions have resulted from Russia's accusation of piracy against Sweden for these boardings.