Swedish coast guard detains Syrian-flagged vessel

The Swedish Coast Guard announced the detention of the Syrian-flagged oil tanker "JIN HUI" in Swedish territorial waters south of Trelleborg.

A force of the coast guard and police boarded the vessel to conduct a preliminary investigation regarding its unseaworthiness, as well as the suspicion that it was flying a fake flag.

According to official statements, the ship was moving in an unclear destination and is believed to be carrying no cargo at the time of its detention.

Suspicion of a "shadow fleet"

Swedish sources indicate that the detained tanker is on multiple sanctions lists, including those of the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Swedish Civil Defence Minister Carl Oskar Polin has hinted at suspicions about the ship's involvement in Russia's so-called "shadow fleet".

The term refers to a group of old or uninsured vessels that are used to circumvent international sanctions on oil exports.

Russian Position and Freedom of Navigation

The Russian side rejects these descriptions, as the Russian Foreign Ministry has previously stated that the "shadow fleet" is a fabricated idea by the European Union and does not actually exist.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, also considered that the measures taken by the European Union countries to stop civilian ships by force under the pretext of combating this flotilla represent a flagrant violation of international freedom of navigation.

What is the Shadow Fleet and European Sanctions?

Shadow Fleet: This term emerged intensively following the imposition of a price cap on Russian oil by the G7 countries and the European Union.

The fleet is made up of hundreds of tankers operating under fake flags, and relies on an ambiguous ownership structure to avoid tracking.

The sanctions imposed by Brussels and London on Russia's shadow fleet are aimed  at clamp down on the financial resources that fund military operations, by preventing ships on "blacklists" from accessing maritime services, insurance, and European ports.

The Baltic Sea has become a tight surveillance zone by NATO countries (including Sweden) to monitor suspicious movements of vessels trying to transport oil away from international control, making any vessel flying the flag of a sanctioned country an immediate target of security scrutiny.

Somali pirates hijack ships carrying 16 Syrian sailors

The  Syrian Seafarers' Syndicate on the High Seas  recently announced that the merchant ship "Sward" was subjected to a piracy and hijacking off the coast of Somalia, with 16 Syrian sailors on board, and that negotiations are underway to release the ship and crew.

The union said in a statement published on its social media site today that the St. Kitts and Nevis flagged vessel was carrying a crew of 16 Syrian sailors that was pirated yesterday in an area 6 nautical miles northeast of Garacad in Somalia.

The Seafarers' Syndicate pointed out that serious and continuous negotiations have begun aimed at securing the release of the ship and its crew as soon as possible, in parallel with communication with the competent international authorities to follow up on the developments of the situation and ensure the safety of Syrian seafarers.

The coastal region of Somalia is classified as a "high risk" area for maritime piracy, and although these operations have declined in recent years thanks to international patrols, recent months have witnessed a resurgence of piracy activities targeting commercial vessels in transit, putting the safety of seafarers and shipping lanes under the microscope of international surveillance once again.