Shortly after 8.30 pm on Thursday evening, the Swedish Coast Guard boarded a 228-metre-long tanker off Trelleborg. A preliminary investigation has been opened into a suspected offence against the Maritime Code (sjölagen) relating to unseaworthiness. The operation is being carried out with support from the Swedish Police Authority.

The tanker Sea Owl I flies the flag of the Comoros. The Coast Guard suspects that it is not listed in the Comorian ship register, that it is sailing under a false flag and that there is therefore no flag state that can vouch for safety on board. The vessel is on the EU sanctions list.

− Our overall assessment is that the risk of safety deficiencies on board is high. On this basis, the vessel cannot be covered by what the law of the sea defines as innocent passage. The threats to maritime safety and the environment are too great. There are therefore grounds for intervening against the vessel, says Daniel Stenling, Deputy Head of Operations at the Coast Guard.

Cooperation with the Swedish Police Authority

Sea Owl I was boarded in Swedish territorial waters by the National Task Force, with help from the Coast Guard's national boarding team and a police helicopter. The operation was planned.

Preliminary investigation led by a prosecutor

Work is currently under way at sea. The Coast Guard has personnel on board to carry out a search and hold interviews. At this stage, the preliminary investigation concerns unseaworthiness. More authorities may become involved, depending on how events develop.

Second vessel boarded in a short time

On 6 March, the Coast Guard, with help from the Swedish Police Authority, took control of the vessel Caffa off Trelleborg. The vessel was later made subject to a so-called international prohibition on use, decided by the Swedish Transport Agency. The master of Caffa is suspected of several offences against the Maritime Code (Sjölagen) and of use of a forged document, aggravated offence.

− Sweden upholds the law of the sea and the rules-based order that we have agreed together. The Coast Guard's responsibility is to ensure that the rules at sea are followed. We will intervene against vessels that break them and that disturb safety in our territorial waters, says Daniel Stenling.

Facts about Sea Owl I