russian cargo ship gran canaria detained baltic

Russian Cargo Ship Bound for Gran Canaria Detained in Baltic

Ship Bound for Gran Canaria Boarded in Swedish Waters

The Swedish Coast Guard boarded a Russian-origin cargo ship bound for Gran Canaria on Sunday, suspecting it of illegally dumping waste in the Baltic Sea. The Panama-flagged vessel, the ‘Hui Yuan’, was intercepted on the orders of the Swedish Prosecution Authority.

Illegal Dumping Captured from the Air

In a statement released on Sunday, the Coast Guard said it had discovered the day before, via images from an aircraft, that the ship was discharging coal waste into the water in breach of environmental laws. The boarding took place at 8:00 AM local time (06:00 GMT) off the coast of the southern Swedish city of Ystad.

Coast Guard Vows Action on Suspicious Vessels

“We are acting to increase maritime security and protect the environment. If there is a suspicious ship, we intervene,” said Daniel Stenling, Vice President of the Coast Guard’s operations department. A preliminary investigation has been opened and the prosecution authority has decided the crew will be interrogated, the statement added, without providing further details.

Link to Crackdown on Russian ‘Ghost Fleet’

Swedish public broadcaster SVT linked the operation to recent actions against the so-called Russian ‘ghost fleet’, used to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil following the war in Ukraine. Although in this case the ship was carrying coal and not oil, the strategy of the Swedish authorities is to minimise tolerance for any type of infringement committed by vessels linked to Russia in the Baltic Sea.

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