Swedish police and coast guards arrested the Caffa ship off the southern coast of Sweden in March, accusing the ship of flying a fake flag and violating maritime regulations as well as ship safety for failing to ensure navigation.
The lawyer representing the owner of the Caffa Shipping Limited ship protested the arrest and requested the ship to be returned.
According to a ruling on June 4, the Swedish court said that Ukraine is requesting the receipt of the ship within the framework of an investigation related to the appropriation and transportation of assets out of the territory of Ukraine controlled by Russia.
The court confirmed that the arrest of the Caffa ship is legally grounded and the ship could be handed over to Ukraine," prosecutor Hakan Larsson said.
The Swedish court determined that the alleged actions of the Caffa ship could constitute war crimes under Swedish law, thereby paving the way for the transfer of the ship and related evidence to the Ukrainian side.
Mr. Larsson added that the ruling needs to have final legal validity before any transfer activities are carried out. He also added that the ship owner has 3 weeks to appeal.
At the time of arrest, Swedish police said that most of the 11 crew members of the Caffa ship were Russian. According to the MarineTraffic ship tracking service, this is a general cargo ship about 96m long.
