A court in Ystad, Sweden, has authorized the transfer of the cargo ship Caffa (IMO 9143611) to Ukraine, according to reports by Ukraine’s prosecutor general and the Swedish outlet Trelleborgs Allehanda. The vessel was detained off Sweden’s coast in March.
Ukraine had sought the vessel’s arrest and transfer as part of an international legal assistance request. Ukrainian investigators say the Caffa was involved in the illegal export of products from Russian-occupied territories. The ship’s captain and almost the entire crew were Russian citizens.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said it was the first case in which a foreign court approved the arrest of a vessel linked to the export of Ukrainian goods from occupied territory at the request of Ukrainian prosecutors. Kravchenko said the Prosecutor General’s Office contacted Sweden’s Justice Ministry on March 12, asking the authorities to search the vessel, question its captain and crew, and seize the Caffa.
Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer, commenting on the ruling, linked the Caffa case to broader efforts aimed at countering Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
“It is clear that measures against the Russian shadow fleet are important for Sweden and for all countries around the Baltic Sea,” he told Trelleborgs Allehanda.
