World

Sweden seizes suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker

By AAP Newswire

May 4, 2026

Swedish Coast Guard and a tanker — Police and coast guard officials boarded a Syrian-flagged oil tanker in Swedish territorial waters. -EPA

The Chinese captain of a seized oil tanker with suspected Russian links ‌has been arrested on suspicion of carrying false documents ‌and of violating laws on seaworthiness, a Swedish prosecutor says.

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The coast guard and police on Sunday boarded the Syrian-flagged Jin Hui in Swedish territorial waters.

The captain, who was not named, will be interrogated later on Monday, Senior ‌Prosecutor Adrien ‌Combier-Hogg ⁠said in a statement.

Authorities said the vessel was believed to belong to the shadow fleet, a clandestine network of vessels Russia has used to evade Western sanctions imposed on it in response to the Ukraine war. As European ⁠nations have increased their ‌efforts to disrupt the shadow fleet, Sunday's arrest of the Jin Hui was ‌Sweden's fifth such action this year.

Russia has not commented on the latest action, but has previously condemned interceptions of its vessels as hostile.

It was not immediately known how the suspect responded to the ship's seizure or ‌the accusations against him.

The coast guard said the ship, whose destination was unclear and which was not thought to be carrying a cargo, figured on several sanctions lists, including those of the European Union and Britain.