Sweden conducted an operation in the Baltic Sea and seized the cargo ship Caffa, suspected of transporting grain produced in occupied Ukrainian territory.
The operation took place near Trelleborg and involved Swedish Special Forces (Nationella insatsstyrkan), police air support and Coast Guard personnel boarding and controlling the vessel during a mission named “Svart kaffe” (Black Coffee).
The vessel reportedly loaded grain from Sevastopol in July 2025, which Kiiu considers stolen cargo, according to authorities and maritime monitoring data. The vessel was included in Ukraine’s sanctions list due to its involvement in export schemes involving occupied territories. Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oscar Bolin said the cargo ship had changed its Russian flag to that of Guinea to conceal its activities.
At the time of the interception, the vessel was heading from Casablanca to St. Petersburg. Swedish authorities said Caffa already had a history of violating international regulations. The Coast Guard emphasized that the operation was planned based on a detailed risk analysis in advance, and investigators began searching the ship’s interior and questioning the crew.
Stockholm sees the incident as part of its response to so-called Russian “ghost fleets” being used to circumvent international sanctions. A similar incident occurred on March 1, 2026, when Belgian forces, with French support, intercepted the oil tanker Ethera near Ostend. The 180-metre-long vessel, also flying the Guinean flag, was identified by intelligence services as part of the network and taken to the port of Zeebrugge for investigation purposes.
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source: Militarnyi | Photo: This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by our editorial team
Today, the Coast Guard, with the help of the national task force and in cooperation with the relevant authorities, boarded a suspected false-flag cargo ship in Swedish waters.
The ship is on Ukraine’s sanctions list, the ownership structure is unclear and there is suspicion that insurance… pic.twitter.com/LrOYNFpQoj
— Carl-Oskar Bohlin (@CarlOskar) March 6, 2026
