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Final court decision to transfer seized Caffa to Ukraine
The Supreme Court of Sweden has made a final decision on the transfer of the seized 'Caffa' to Ukraine, which, according to the Ukrainian side, was used to transport grain from the temporarily Russian-occupied territories. The vessel was detained on March 6 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea. Law enforcement officers suspected the crew of using a false flag and violating maritime law. According to the Ukrainian side, the ship participated in the transportation of stolen grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and was under sanctions. On April 29, a Swedish court ordered the arrest of the 'Caffa'. In early May, the Russian crew was allowed to leave the ship and leave Sweden, while the ship itself remained in port. In June, the court preliminarily approved the transfer of the 'Caffa' to Ukraine, and now the Supreme Court of Sweden has finally upheld this decision.
Planning of handover to Ukraine going ahead
On July 3, the Court of Appeal upheld the seizure of the 'Caffa'. The decision would likely be appealed, but preparations were already underway to hand her over to Ukraine, where the vessel was part of an investigation into suspected war crimes. The planning was underway, according to State Prosecutor Håkan Larsson. The shipping company’s Swedish lawyer believed that the seizure was wrong and will recommend that the shipping company request leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Swedish court agreed that Caffa could be seized
On June 4 a Swedish court has agreed with prosecutors that the 'Caffa', being accused of stealing grain from the occupied regions of Ukraine, could be seized in response to a request from Ukraine. The decision was being hailed by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General as the first time an international court has agreed to its requests to hold ships accountable for sanctions violations. The Swedish prosecutors had moved to seize the 'Caffa' on April 29 in response to the request from Ukraine. They were going to let the court examine whether the vessel could be handed over to Ukraine under Swedish law. The court in the Ystad District ruled that the ship can be legally seized and handed over to Ukraine based on the request that came from Ukraine. The court, after reviewing the circumstances, it found that the charges would be considered a war crime in Sweden and permitted the seizure. Ukrainian prosecutors reported they had filed a request with Sweden on March 12, alleging the ship had systematically violated the rules for entering and leaving the occupied areas of Ukraine. Europe has recognized Ukraine’s sanctions on the ports in Crimea since the 2014 annexation of the region by Russia. Ukrainian prosecutors said the Caffa had repeatedly transported grain from the ports and, to hide the activity, used a false registration. The Swedish Coast Guard had stopped the 'Caffa' on March 6, reporting that they believed the ship was sailing under a false registry claiming it was under the flag of Guinea. The Caffa was directed to an anchorage off Trelleborg on charges that it was violating maritime law and vessel safety regulation, where it remained since. Ukraine asked Sweden to search the ship for evidence, interrogate the captain and crew, and arrest the 'Caffa'. Sweden moved quickly to search the ship and interview the captain and crew, who were mostly Russians. The ship, had been owned by Russians, but is now reported to be owned by a corporation in the Seychelles. Since 2025, it has been claiming to be sailing under the flag of Guinea, which is listed as being false. In April 2025, Turkey conducted a Port State inspection and listed 11 deficiencies ranging from issues with the main and auxiliary engines to the availability of firefighting equipment, and problems with its charts and voyage plan. Previously, Turkey had listed seven deficiencies in 2024, and Russian inspectors reported 10 deficiencies in a 2023 inspection. Sweden arrested the captain on charges that he presented false documents, but later released him, saying it was unable to prove the captain knew the documents were false. The 11 crew members were ultimately permitted to leave the ship, after prosecutors said the crew was not suspected of any crimes.
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