A vessel belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet, which was detained in Sweden and is carrying grain, is to be handed over to Ukraine

Sweden is to hand over to Kyiv a cargo ship belonging to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ that was detained, which Ukraine suspects of transporting grain stolen from its occupied territory, according to Swedish court documents obtained by the AFP news agency on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by “Caffa Shipping Ltd”, the owner of the 96-metre-long vessel “Caffa”, which sought to prevent the handover requested by Ukraine and approved by two lower-level Swedish courts.

Moscow’s shadow fleet consists of vessels used to circumvent Western sanctions. These are mostly obsolete, in poor condition, without proper insurance and of unclear ownership.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha thanked Sweden on Thursday. ““This historic decision sets an important precedent, demonstrating that decisive action by law enforcement and prosecutors, combined with an independent and impartial judicial system, can translate the principle of accountability into tangible results,” – wrote A. Sybiha on the social media platform “X”.

The vessel “Caffa”, which was sailing under a forged Guinean flag, was en route to St Petersburg in Russia when, on 6 March, armed Swedish police officers boarded it off the southern coast near Trelleborg.

The Swedish officers were acting on a request for legal assistance from Ukraine, where a legal investigation is underway concerning the vessel “Caffa”, according to the Swedish Istad District Court.

Ten of the 11 crew members on board were Russian citizens. According to Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukraine’s sanctions commissioner, the vessel was carrying grain.

Mr Vlasiuk stated that the vessel had previously been linked to grain thefts from occupied Ukrainian territory, including the transport of cargo from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea in July 2025.

At that time, the vessel unloaded its cargo at the port of Tartus in Syria, V. Vlasiuk wrote in a Facebook post on 7 March.

According to the Swedish television channel TV4, this is the first time a court has ordered the handover to Kyiv of a Russian vessel suspected of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain.