Swedish court orders arrest of vessel suspected of transporting goods from occupied Ukrainian territories

According to Ukrinform, Ukraine's Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, announced this on Telegram.

He said this is the first time a foreign court has approved the arrest of a vessel at the request of the Ukrainian prosecution service under an international legal assistance procedure in a case involving the illegal export of goods from occupied Ukrainian territory.

"According to the investigation, the Caffa systematically violated the rules governing entry to and exit from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory with the aim of harming Ukraine's national interests. To conceal this activity, a false registration scheme was used: in international databases, the vessel was listed as Guinea False," Kravchenko said.

He also noted that on March 12, 2026, the Prosecutor General's Office submitted a request for international legal assistance to Sweden's Ministry of Justice. Ukraine requested a search of the vessel, interviews with the captain and crew members, and the seizure of the Caffa.

"Swedish authorities promptly began executing the request. As early as the following week, the vessel was searched and witnesses were questioned. Today, the process reached an important procedural milestone, as the court approved the arrest of the vessel," the prosecutor general said.

According to Kravchenko, the decision is a concrete result of international legal cooperation between Ukraine and its partners.

"Daily work, information-sharing, and the collection and transfer of additional evidence have produced results: the vessel has been arrested," he said.

He stressed that Russia continues to exploit Ukrainian resources in occupied territories, while Ukraine is systematically documenting these crimes by tracking shipping routes, identifying vessels, recording illegal port calls in occupied areas, and using all available mechanisms of international legal assistance.

"This case sends a clear signal that no manipulation involving flags, shipping routes, or vessel registrations will help evade accountability. Ukraine sees it, documents it, and proves it," Kravchenko said.

On March 6, Sweden's Coast Guard detained the cargo vessel Caffa in the Baltic Sea near the city of Trelleborg on suspicion of violating international maritime regulations. The vessel is subject to Ukrainian sanctions.

Swedish police stated that the ship was sailing under a false flag and was suspected of violating maritime law and vessel safety regulations.

One crew member was charged with violating national and international legislation. Most of the vessel's 11 crew members are Russian nationals.

In late April, following a decision by Swedish prosecutors, the dry cargo ship Caffa, which had been detained near Trelleborg while en route to Saint Petersburg, was confiscated.

Photo: Nicolaj Jepsen / MarineTraffic