Person arrested after boarding Russian
Photo: Kustbevakningen / TT

Person arrested after boarding Russian ship off Trelleborg

A person on the bulk carrier Caffa has been arrested, the Coast Guard announced. The ship, which was sailing under a false flag with a mostly Russian crew, has been banned from operating and must remain where it dropped anchor.

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The person was arrested on Saturday and brought ashore on suspicion of violating the Maritime Act and the Ship Safety Act, and of aggravated use of a false document. Prosecutors have taken over the preliminary investigation.

The other ten crew members remain on the ship and are not suspected of any crime.

Deficiencies must be addressed

An international ban on use was issued by the Swedish Transport Agency after the agency's inspectors found deficiencies on board. This means that the ship is not allowed to leave anchorage until the deficiencies have been rectified.

"The next step is to assess, together with other relevant Swedish authorities, how the situation should be handled further, based on current regulations and division of responsibilities," the Swedish Transport Agency writes in a press release.

Stolen grain

Last Friday, the national police task force and the Coast Guard, in the joint operation "Black Coffee," boarded the ship off the coast of Trelleborg. Personnel lowered themselves by rope from a helicopter and climbed up a ladder at the stern of the ship.

"It is serious that ships sailing in Swedish waters, including our territorial waters, have such deficiencies that they pose a threat to maritime safety and traffic, our fairways and ports and, not least, to the environment," says Daniel Stenling, Deputy Chief of Operations at the Coast Guard, in a press release.

The ship is reportedly on Ukraine's sanctions list and is suspected of transporting stolen grain. It is anchored in Swedish waters off Trelleborg.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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