Swedish Customs Arrests Russian Cargo Ship

The Swedish Customs Service announced on Sunday that authorities boarded a Russian cargo ship that had anchored in Swedish waters due to engine problems on Friday, and a cargo inspection is currently underway, according to Reuters.

Customs representative Martin Hoglund stated that the owners of the 'Adler' ship are on the list of European Union sanctions. "After 01:00 AM, we boarded the ship with the support of the Swedish Maritime Administration and the police to conduct a customs inspection. The inspection is still ongoing," Hoglund said.

At the same time, Hoglund declined to disclose what the customs service had discovered aboard the vessel. According to Marine Traffic, the 'Adler' is a 126-meter-long container ship designed for transporting wheeled containers. The ship is anchored near Höganas in southwestern Sweden.

In addition to being on the EU sanctions list, the 'Adler' and its owner 'M Leasing' are also under U.S. sanctions for suspected involvement in arms transportation, according to the OpenSanctions database. Hoglund reported that the ship left the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 15, but the customs service has no information on its destination.