Swedish court backs Ukraine in case of cargo ship Caffa carrying stolen grain

A Swedish court has supported Ukraine's position in the case of the bulk carrier Caffa, which is being investigated for illegally entering ports in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and transporting stolen agricultural goods from those ports. Ukraine hopes that based on the positive outcome of the Caffa case, it will achieve further arrests of vessels carrying stolen Ukrainian grain.

A Swedish court ruled in favour of Ukraine in the case concerning the bulk carrier Caffa. The court supported Ukraine's position regarding the vessel, which is being investigated for illegally entering ports located in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and for transporting stolen agricultural goods from those ports.

The Ukrainian news channel Ukrinform reported on Thursday that Ukraine hopes to achieve further arrests of vessels carrying stolen Ukrainian grain based on the positive outcome of the Caffa case. This would set an important precedent for international pressure on shipping that services ports under Russian control in Ukraine.

Stolen Ukrainian grain has been one of the major international disputes since the start of the war. Russia controls several Ukrainian ports, including those in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, from which, according to various investigations, tens of thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural produce have been transported to third countries.