Rabat – Swedish police announced they intercepted a cargo ship that departed from Casablanca in the Baltic Sea on Friday.
Reports said Sweden suspected that the ship belonged to Russia’s “shadow fleet” and may have transported stolen Ukrainian grain.
The Moscow Times reported that Sweden’s coast guard intercepted the “Guinea-flagged” cargo ship on Friday. It was on its way to St. Petersburg.
The Swedish coast guard’s acting head of operations said information showed that the ship has been used to transport grain that is “stolen.”
“We have been able to establish that the vessel is sailing under a false flag. It is registered in Guinea, but that registration is in fact false,” the manager said.
Swedish authorities announced that the majority of the crew members were Russians.
The Russian embassy in Sweden said it is in contact with the relevant Swedish authorities and is ready to provide consular assistance to the Russian nationals among the crew.
Recalling the cargo’s interception, the embassy said: “The stated reason was suspicion of violations of international maritime safety regulations.”
The interception of Caffa came days after Belgian special forces seized an oil tanker believed to be part of the so-called shadow fleet used by Russia to avoid Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
In December last year, the European Council announced measures on 41 vessels that are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.
This is part of expanded sanctions on Russia with the aim of weakening its economic base.
