Sweden has released the Chinese oil tanker Sea Owl 1 after seven months of detention. This tanker, which had been held since March 2026, was under scrutiny due to concerns regarding registration and seaworthiness.
Details of the tanker’s detention
The oil tanker Sea Owl 1 (with a capacity of 75,000 deadweight tons) was inspected by Swedish forces on March 12, 2026, while it was en route from Santos, Brazil, to ports in Russia. This detention was due to suspicion of a false flag and concerns regarding seaworthiness. The Russian captain of the ship provided documents indicating that the tanker was registered in Comoros, but the Swedes discovered that the vessel had been operating under a false flag since July 2025.
Investigations and consequences
Swedish authorities announced that a preliminary investigation is examining suspected violations related to the tanker’s seaworthiness. The tanker has been moved to an anchorage near Trelleborg in Sweden at the request of Swedish authorities. One week after the detention of Sea Owl 1, another small cargo ship named Caffa was also stopped for the same reasons. During the investigation, the first captain of the tanker was arrested in March for providing false documents, but was released due to difficulties in proving this matter.
The new captain also provided documents indicating that the tanker was registered in Cameroon, but these documents were also fake, and he was arrested in May for providing incorrect documents.
The Swedish Coast Guard reported that Sea Owl 1 is under European Union sanctions but is not suspected of sanction violations. The tanker has reported that it was heading towards the Primorsky port in Russia at the time of its detention.
The order to detain this tanker was lifted on October 12, 2026, after Swedish authorities confirmed that the tanker was registered in Equatorial Guinea. However, the tanker remains in Swedish anchorage awaiting new orders.
Sweden has also released two other ships it had detained after fines were paid, but two other ships remain under detention. The ship Caffa, which was stopped in March 2026, was seized by Swedish police, and Swedish courts confirmed that this ship could be delivered to Ukraine, a country that claimed this ship was carrying stolen grain from occupied areas of Ukraine. Another oil tanker named Jin Hui is also still under detention in Sweden.
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