On the evening of 12 March, the Swedish Coast Guard detained the Comoros-flagged oil tanker Sea Owl I off the coast of Trelleborg in the Baltic Sea.
According to the agency, the coast guard suspects that the vessel is not in the Swedish ship registry, it uses a foreign flag and therefore there is no state that can guarantee safety on board. The vessel is on the EU sanctions list.
“Our overall assessment is that the risk of safety deficiencies on board is high. On this basis, the vessel cannot be authorised for peaceful passage,” said Swedish Coast Guard deputy chief of operations Daniel Stenling.
According to the Marine Traffic service, the vessel is now docked in the Baltic Sea. It left the Brazilian port of Santos on 15 February and was due to arrive in Russia’s Primorsk on 15 March.
A preliminary investigation has been launched into the ship’s seaworthiness.
After the vessel was detained, the Swedish Coast Guard boarded the vessel for search and interrogation.
According to Swedish authorities, the Sea Owl I tanker, built in 2007, had been transporting oil products between Russia and Brazil in recent years.
Last week Sweden detained the cargo ship Caffa, which was travelling from Casablanca to St Petersburg. The vessel was flying the flag of Guinea, but Swedish authorities consider it a “stateless vessel.” The captain of the Caffa, a Russian citizen, is suspected of using forged maritime certificates, violating maritime laws and the Ship Safety Act.