Swedish customs officials boarded the Russian vessel Adler off the southern coast of Sweden during the night into Sunday, after the ship suffered an engine failure and anchored in Swedish waters, SVT reported.
The ship is owned by the Russian company M Leasing LLC, which is under US and EU sanctions. Vessels linked to the company have reportedly transported North Korean ammunition later used by Russia in the war in Ukraine.
The Adler had been transiting north through the strait between Denmark and Sweden in the Baltic Sea when it reported engine trouble early Saturday and issued a distress call to Swedish authorities. It subsequently anchored off the coast of southern Sweden.
SVT security correspondent John Granlund said the boarding is part of a wider pattern of inspections targeting suspected Russian hybrid activity and illegal arms-related shipping in EU waters. He noted that authorities are increasing vigilance toward suspicious maritime activity.
Sweden’s minister for civil defence, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, said the inspection was carried out in cooperation with the ship’s crew and that the government has remained in close contact with the relevant authorities throughout the process.
