A Swedish court has approved the arrest of the Caffa vessel, suspected of exporting stolen Ukrainian grain.

According to Kravchenko, the ship is accused of using false registration for covert calls to ports in the occupied territory of Ukraine. The Ukrainian side claims that Caffa participated in the illegal export of products from the occupied territories, including stolen Ukrainian grain.

Caffa was detained by the Swedish coast guard in early March in the Baltic Sea, near Trelleborg. At the time, Swedish authorities said the ship was sailing with an unclear flag status and was allegedly using false documents. It was noted that Caffa was flying the flag of Guinea and was heading to St. Petersburg. A significant part of the crew consisted of Russian citizens.

Swedish law enforcement authorities were investigating possible violations of maritime law related to the registration, documents and technical condition of the vessel. Captain Caffa, a Russian citizen, was detained in March, but in April Swedish authorities announced his release from custody.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, the court’s decision marked the first time that the arrest of a vessel classified as part of the Russian “shadow fleet” was approved by the court at the request of Ukraine. Kyiv views this as a precedent for further prosecution of ships involved in schemes for the export of products from the occupied territories.

In recent months, European countries have stepped up control over ships that Ukraine and Western states say are being used by Russia to circumvent sanctions, transport oil and export stolen Ukrainian products. In addition to Caffa, other vessels with suspicious flag status and opaque ownership structures have been detained and inspected in Sweden and other countries.