Sweden has launched an operation in the Baltic Sea to seize a cargo ship called the Caffa, accused of carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territories.
The operation took place near the town of Trelleborg and involved Swedish special forces (Nationella insatsstyrkan), police air support and coast guard units who boarded the ship in an operation called “Svart kaffe” (black coffee).
According to authorities and maritime surveillance data, the ship loaded grain in Sevastopol in July 2025 — a cargo that Kiev considers stolen. Due to its participation in export activities related to the occupied territories, the ship was added to Ukraine’s sanctions list. According to Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oscar Bolin, the cargo ship changed its Russian flag to a Guinean flag in an attempt to hide its activities.
At the time of the capture, the ship was heading from Casablanca to St. Petersburg. According to the Swedish authorities, Caffa has already violated international rules. The Coast Guard stressed that the operation was pre-planned with a detailed risk analysis, while investigators searched the ship and interviewed the crew.
Stockholm is treating the case as part of a wider crackdown on so-called “shadow fleets” used to evade international sanctions. A similar incident occurred on March 1, 2026, when the Belgian army, with French support, captured the oil tanker Ethera near Ostend. The 180-meter-long vessel, also flying the Guinean flag, was identified by intelligence as part of this network and taken to the port of Zeebrugge for investigation.
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Source: Militarnyi | Photo: X @CarlOskar | This content is generated with the help of artificial intelligence and verified by the editors
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
