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Sweden's Coast Guard boarded a suspected Russian shadow fleet vessel flying a Syrian flag in Swedish territorial waters south of Trelleborg on Sunday, opening a preliminary investigation into seaworthiness violations as European nations intensify efforts to disrupt Moscow's sanctions-evasion network.
"The Coast Guard has today boarded another vessel suspected of being part of the Russian shadow fleet. The vessel is named Jin Hui and is suspected of sailing under a false flag," Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said on X, adding that the vessel had deficient seaworthiness and lacked insurance.
The Swedish Coast Guard said the 182-meter vessel was boarded around 2:00 p.m. local time and was "likely" carrying no cargo.
Its destination was unknown.
The Coast Guard said it suspects the ship of sailing under a false flag, "given there are a number of irregularities concerning its flag status," and that it therefore does not meet seaworthiness demands set out in international regulations and agreements.
A preliminary investigation into unseaworthiness and violation of the maritime code is underway.
The Jin Hui appears on the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Sweden's Coast Guard and police jointly conducted the boarding operation.
Sunday's interdiction is part of a pattern of increasing Swedish enforcement in the Baltic Sea. On March 6, the Coast Guard seized the 96-meter cargo ship Caffa on suspicion of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain.
That vessel was subsequently confiscated on April 29 following a request for legal assistance from a foreign state, which Swedish prosecutors declined to identify.
On March 12, Sweden's Coast Guard also boarded the 228-meter tanker Sea Owl I off Trelleborg. That vessel was flying a Comoran flag, which authorities believed was fraudulent.
Russia's shadow fleet typically consists of aging vessels with opaque ownership structures, operating without proper insurance and in poor physical condition, raising concerns about the risk of accidents in sensitive maritime corridors.
Russia has condemned European interception efforts as hostile.
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