Sweden’s Coast Guard and police on Friday, March 6, detained the freighter Caffa in the Baltic Sea as it sailed along the country’s southern coast under the flag of Guinea. Authorities suspect the vessel is part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” and believe it was operating under a false flag, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported.
In an operation dubbed “Black Coffee,” a police helicopter landed on the cargo ship before Coast Guard and police officers took control. Investigators are currently conducting searches and other procedural actions onboard.
Sweden’s Minister for Civil Defense Karl-Oskar Bolin said Caffa is on Ukraine’s sanctions list. “The vessel is on Ukraine’s sanctions list, its ownership structure is unclear, and there is suspicion it lacks insurance. Earlier this summer, the ship reportedly switched its flag from Russian to Guinean,” he wrote on the social platform X.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the freighter was used to steal grain from Crimea annexed by Russia, SVT noted. When it was intercepted, the ship was loaded with grain and was headed to St. Petersburg, the Swedish Coast Guard said.
Bolin added that the investigation will determine whether the vessel meets the requirements to operate in Swedish waters. “Against the serious challenge posed by the ‘shadow fleet,’ the government believes it is necessary to pursue an active countermeasures policy,” he said. The Coast Guard, for its part, said it has launched a probe into suspected violations of the Maritime Code, with authorities judging the ship to be unseaworthy. Officials noted they still need to determine whether the freighter is linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Russia’s “shadow fleet” largely consists of older ships operating outside Western insurance and registration systems. The network helps Moscow skirt European Union sanctions imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In May 2025, Swedish authorities said they would step up insurance checks on foreign vessels because of Russia’s shadow fleet. As of July 1, the Coast Guard and the Swedish Maritime Administration gained authority to collect insurance information not only from ships calling at Swedish ports, but also from those transiting Sweden’s territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone.
