Tanker Sea Owl 1 is allowed to leave Swedish waters

Swedish Coast Guard and Swedish Police boarded the vessel on March 12 on suspicion of lack of seaworthiness, a violation of maritime law. The vessel did not have a valid flag state at the time, as it was flying a false flag in the Comoros. In May, the ship stated that it had reflagged to Cameroon, which also turned out to be a false statement.

The Swedish Transport Agency now confirms that the ship has been registered in Equatorial Guinea's ship register.

– A ship that disregards international agreements and regulations by flying a false flag, twice in addition, is adding risk in shipping lanes and along our coasts. It is positive that the ship can now leave Sweden after a remarkably long time at anchor off our coast, says the Swedish Coast Guard's Deputy Chief of Operations, Daniel Stenling.

The Swedish Coast Guard is a civilian authority with law enforcement and order-keeping duties at sea, and with the authority to intervene against and investigate maritime crimes. During the spring, the Swedish Coast Guard, with the support of several Swedish authorities, carried out a number of interventions against ships that had committed crimes in Swedish territorial waters and in the Swedish economic zone.

Safety at sea depends on a high level of compliance with regulations. For those who follow international and national law, there are great freedoms, freedoms that are evident from the law of the sea and that Sweden protects.

– We will intervene again against ships that are not seaworthy, or that do not behave in accordance with applicable international and national regulations, says Daniel Stenling.

• Sea Owl 1 is on the EU sanctions list but is not suspected of any sanctions breach. Two captains on board have been investigated in stages for various crimes, including using a false document. All preliminary investigations have been closed.
• The vessel Caffa, which was boarded on 6 March, has been seized by Swedish Police and is berthed in the port of Trelleborg.
• Another vessel, Jin Hui, has remained at anchor since 3 May with a ban on use.
• The Swedish Coast Guard continues to cooperate closely with the Swedish Transport Agency and Swedish Police.