A crew member of the alleged Russian ghost ship intercepted in Sweden has been arrested

The Swedish coast guard announced on Sunday, March 8, the arrest of a crew member of a cargo ship suspected of belonging to the Russian ghost fleet and of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, which was boarded on Friday by Swedish police.

The Caffa, a 96-meter vessel, had left Casablanca (Morocco) on February 24 and was en route to Saint Petersburg (Russia) when armed Swedish police boarded it off the coast of Trelleborg (southern Sweden).

The The Swedish coast guard indicated that the cargo ship was on the sanctions list related to the war in Ukraine and was sailing under a false Guinean flag. "The findings led to the arrest and disembarkation of a crew member," the coast guard said in a statement. This "individual is suspected of violations of the maritime code and the Ship Safety Act, and of using false documents, an aggravated offense," according to the statement. "Serious deficiencies" in the ship's operation. The public prosecutor's office has opened a preliminary investigation, while the coast guard continues its investigations on board the vessel. The Russian embassy in Stockholm indicated on Saturday that it had been informed by the Swedish coast guard that 10 crew members were Russian citizens. The Swedish coast guard believes that the Caffa has "serious deficiencies" in its operation. "Our mission is to enforce regulations at sea. We will take action against vessels that violate them and endanger safety in our maritime zone," said Coast Guard Operations Chief Daniel Stenling in the statement. The Swedish Transport Agency was to inspect the vessel and determine whether it was seaworthy and authorized to continue its voyage. Moscow's "ghost fleet" consists of often poorly maintained, uninsured vessels with opaque ownership, used to circumvent Western sanctions.