Swedish Supreme Court Allows Seized Cargo Ship to Be Sent to Ukraine for War-Crime Probe

Sweden’s top court ruled on Thursday that the cargo vessel Caffa, seized in the Baltic Sea earlier this year, may be transferred to Ukraine, where it is linked to suspected illegal grain transport from Russian-occupied areas. The Supreme Court dismissed the owners’ appeal, affirming the Court of Appeal’s finding that the ship operated under a false flag and breached maritime safety regulations. Police reported that most of the eleven crew members were Russian at the time of seizure.

Ukrainian investigators consider the ship and its documentation vital evidence in a war-crime case that Swedish law could classify as such. The decision makes the handover of the vessel and related evidence to Ukraine legally binding. The ruling, dated August 4, states the Supreme Court will not grant leave to appeal.