Swedish authorities have boarded the oil tanker Sea Owl I in the Baltic Sea, suspecting it may be operating under a false flag. This marks the second maritime intervention near Trelleborg in just a week. The Swedish Coast Guard, alongside the Swedish Police, conducted the boarding at around 20:30 local time on March 12, citing concerns over the vessel’s seaworthiness and its suspicious registration under the Comorian flag, which does not appear in the Comoros ship register.
Daniel Stenling, Deputy Chief of Operations at the Coast Guard, emphasized the heightened risk of safety deficiencies onboard, stating that the vessel cannot be permitted safe passage due to significant threats to maritime safety and the environment. International maritime law allows coastal states to intervene in cases where ships lack a verifiable flag state.
The Sea Owl I, built in 2007, has operated between Russia and Brazil, and was en route from Santos to Primorsk during the boarding. It is also subject to EU sanctions, complicating its legal status. This operation follows a similar intervention involving the cargo ship Caffa, highlighting a growing trend of assertive maritime enforcement in European waters against vessels suspected of evasion or false flagging. The investigation into the Sea Owl I remains ongoing as authorities continue to examine the ship and its documentation.
