Sweden Detained A Russian "shadow" Tanker

The ship was flying a false flag.

The oil tanker Sea Owl, believed to be part of a "shadow" fleet carrying Russian oil, was detained in the Baltic Sea near the Swedish port city of Trelleborg on March 12.

The Swedish Civil Defense Minister Karl-Oskar Bolin reported.

"The Coast Guard has boarded a suspected 'shadow fleet' vessel in Swedish territorial waters for the second time in a week. The vessel ... is believed to be of no nationality. It is on the EU sanctions list and is carrying oil or other liquid fuel," the head of the agency wrote in X. Last week, Sweden stopped the St. Petersburg-bound dry cargo ship Caffa.

The Swedish Coast Guard said the Sea Owl was flying a false flag (of the Comoros Islands) and was creating a maritime hazard as well as environmental risks. An investigation into the ship's seaworthiness is underway. Starboard Maritime Intelligence data also suggests that the 228-meter-long Sea Owl was flying a false flag, The Insider notes. There is no confirmation in other databases that the tanker is under Comorian jurisdiction. According to the Swedish Coast Guard, Sea Owl was on its way to the Russian port of Primorsk from Santos, Brazil.

The tanker left the Brazilian port on February 15 and was supposed to reach the port of Tallinn around March 15 before heading to Primorsk. Previously, Sea Owl had been making regular voyages between Russian and Brazilian ports.

The tanker came under EU sanctions in October 2025 as one of the vessels in Russia's "shadow fleet." Bolin said this fleet poses a "significant security and environmental threat" and consists of "hundreds of vessels," often outdated, that are "poorly maintained, fly false flags or have no registration at all." "The main problem is the circumvention of sanctions against Russia (especially in oil exports), as well as environmental risks, low professionalism of crews and lack of adequate insurance," the minister said.

On March 5, the Swedish Coast Guard, together with special forces, landed from a helicopter on the dry cargo ship Caffa, which the kingdom's authorities believe was sailing under a false flag of Guinea to the port of St. Petersburg. The vessel is accused by Ukraine of involvement in the transportation of grain from Sevastopol to Syria.

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