STOCKHOLM: Sweden will hand over to Kyiv a seized Russian "shadow fleet" cargo ship which Ukraine suspects of transporting grain stolen from its occupied territory, Swedish court documents on Thursday showed.
The Supreme Court on August 4 dismissed an appeal by Caffa Shipping Ltd, which owns the 96-metre Caffa, in a bid to block the transfer requested by Ukraine and approved by two lower courts in Sweden.
Moscow's "shadow fleet" consists of vessels used to skirt Western sanctions. They are often ageing ships in poor condition, without proper insurance and with opaque ownership.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Thursday thanked Sweden.
"This landmark decision sets an important precedent, demonstrating that decisive action by law enforcement and prosecutors, combined with an independent and impartial judiciary, can translate the principle of accountability into tangible results," he wrote in a post on X.
The Caffa, which was sailing under a false Guinean flag, was headed for Saint Petersburg, Russia, when armed Swedish police boarded it on March 6 off Trelleborg on its southern coast.
Swedish authorities had acted on a request for legal assistance from Ukraine, where Caffa is the subject of a legal investigation, according to the Ystad district court in Sweden.
Ten of the 11 crew on board were Russian nationals.
The vessel was transporting grain, according to the Ukrainian sanctions commissioner, Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
He said the ship had previously been involved in stealing grain from occupied Ukrainian territory, including transporting a shipment from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea in July 2025.
The vessel then unloaded its cargo in the port of Tartus, in Syria, he wrote in a Facebook post on March 7.
Maria Stenergard, Sweden's foreign minister, had spoke at a press conference on the incident.
According to Sweden's TV4 news channel, this is the first time a court has ordered a Russian ship suspected of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain to be transferred to Kyiv. - AFP
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