Sweden intercepts shadowy Russian tanker in the Baltic Sea

The Swedish Coast Guard has taken control of a vessel suspected of belonging to Russiaʼs shadow fleet. The tanker was flying the Guinean flag, but may be considered a stateless vessel.

Reuters reports this.

The incident occurred on March 6 in Swedish waters in the Baltic Sea near the city of Trelleborg. According to the coast guard, the vessel was taken under control at 3:50 PM due to “unclear flag status”.

The cargo ship, the Caffa, is about 96 meters long, according to the ship tracking service MarineTraffic. It was officially flying the Guinean flag, but Sweden said it was legally considered a stateless vessel.

Swedish police suspect the ship was using a false flag. Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Karl-Oscar Bolin also said the ship is on Ukraineʼs sanctions list.

He said the shipʼs ownership structure was unclear and there were suspicions that the vessel might be uninsured. Bolin added that the vessel likely changed its flag from Russian to Guinean this summer.

The Swedish Coast Guard has launched a preliminary investigation into suspected violations of maritime law, in particular regarding the vesselʼs seaworthiness.

What is known about the Russian shadow fleet?

In early December 2022, the G7 members, as well as Australia and the EU, imposed price caps on Russian oil, setting a maximum price of $60 per barrel. Already in January 2026, the European Union announced a reduction in the price of Russian oil to $44.1 per barrel from February 1, 2026.

To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia has begun building a shadow fleet. This is a fleet of old tankers that turn off their beacons so that they cannot be seen by surveillance systems. These tankers are mostly operated by the Russian state-owned company “Suchkomflot”.

According to The Guardian’s September 2023 estimates, Russia’s shadow fleet consists of approximately 600 vessels, providing 70% of Russia’s oil exports and almost 10% of the world’s “wet cargo” fleet. It transports an estimated 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, generating large profits for the Kremlin.

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