The Swedish Coast Guard said that this force and Swedish police boarded the Syrian-flagged oil tanker Jin Hui in the waters of Swedish territorial waters south of Trelleborg and began a preliminary investigation into unsafety at sea.
The Coast Guard suspects that the ship is operating under a false flag, because there are some irregularities related to the ship's flag status, so it does not meet the requirements for safe navigation according to international regulations and agreements" - the statement stated.
According to the Swedish Coast Guard, the ship has an unclear destination and is said to be unloaded. The Jin Hui ship is also on several sanctions lists, including those from the European Union and the UK.
Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin informed on social media that the ship is suspected of belonging to the "dark fleet" specializing in evading Western sanctions.
The incident is the latest action in a series of similar actions taken by the Swedish government in recent months.
Since the beginning of the year, Sweden has blocked 5 ships on suspicion of committing various crimes, including oil spills and operating under false flags, and has opened criminal proceedings against some crew members.
