Sweden arrests Chinese captain of suspected Russia ‘shadow fleet’ ship

The Chinese captain of a ship that Sweden boarded this weekend over suspicions it belonged to Russia’s “shadow fleet” has been arrested, the Swedish prosecution authority said on Monday.

A photo published by the Swedish Coast Guard on May 3, 2026, shows sea vessel Jin Hui (front), suspected of sailing under a false Syrian flag. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard, via Facebook.

Sweden’s coast guard on Sunday boarded the 182-metre (597-foot) Jin Hui, suspected of sailing under a false Syrian flag. It was the latest of several boardings carried out by the Scandinavian country.

Moscow’s “shadow fleet” consists of vessels used to skirt Western sanctions.

They are often ageing ships in poor condition, without proper insurance and with opaque ownership, raising concerns about the risk of an accident.

The Jin Hui is on the sanctions lists of the EU, Britain and Ukraine, Sweden’s Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said on Sunday.

The captain, a Chinese national, was arrested “on suspicion of using a forged document” and of violating Sweden’s maritime code regarding “lack of seaworthiness”, the prosecution authority said in a statement.

“An interrogation of the detainee will be held during the day and contact has been initiated with other authorities and countries,” the prosecutor leading the investigation, Adrien Combier-Hogg, said.