BREAKING: Swedish Coast Guard has boarded general cargo vessel CAFFA on its way to Russia (UPDATED)

The Swedish Coast Guard cutter KBV 003 AMFITRITE has boarded and diverted the general cargo vessel CAFFA on its way to Saint Petersburg in Russia and brought it in off Trelleborg in southernmost Sweden.

The reasons are unknown at the time of publishing, and the patrol boat KBV 474 and possibly KBV 499 have also been assisting.

CAFFA was en route from Casablanca to Saint Petersburg when she was diverted by KBV 003. The vessel has reportedly changed name, flag and owner in June 2025 and later entered Sevastopol in temporarily occupied Crimea, Ukraine, and is suspected of having exported grain stolen from Ukraine by Russian war criminals.

CAFFA has, since 25 November 2025, been under sanctions from Ukraine for stealing grain and has been known for shutting down AIS.

The blog has reached out to the Coast Guard press service but has not yet received any response

UPDATE: The press servcie have now responded. CAFFA was boarded by the Swedish Coastguard and the Swedish police operators from the National Task Force (NI) special tactics unit according to the Coastguard press service.

CAFFA is under suspicions for being falsely flagged in Guinea and an investigation have been started about the correct flag state of the vessel and “other circumstances”.

UPDATE: The Coastguard now has a pressrelease in Swedish. Translation:

“Supported by national and international legislation, the Swedish Coast Guard considers the vessel CAFFA, flying the Guinean flag, to be stateless. Consequently, the Coast Guard assesses that CAFFA was not in innocent passage through Swedish territorial waters. Without a flag state, no state can vouch for the vessel’s safety and seaworthiness.”