YSTAD (dpa-AFX) – The Swedish coast guard has stopped a cargo ship off the southern coast of Sweden on suspicion of violating environmental laws. The ship flying the Panama flag is said to have washed coal residue into the Baltic Sea off the port city of Ystad, the coast guard said. On Sunday morning, the freighter “Hui Yuan” was boarded on behalf of the public prosecutor’s office.
In the afternoon, the coast guard announced that the captain had admitted the violation and posted a deposit to cover future fines. According to the information, the ship is now allowed to leave Sweden again.
While monitoring the Baltic Sea on Saturday, a coast guard aircraft discovered that the freighter had discharged coal residue into the sea. “This constitutes a violation of environmental law,” the statement said.
According to the information, the Swedish public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation and the crew was questioned. The 225-meter-long freighter, which came from Russia, is registered in Panama, according to the coast guard. The ship was on its way to Las Palmas in Spain.
Ships searched again and again
According to the Swedish news agency TT, this is the fourth time the coast guard has boarded a ship since March. Two of them are still off the southern coast of Sweden. It was only on April 3 that the coast guard searched a tanker that was suspected to be part of the Russian shadow fleet.
With ships from the so-called shadow fleet, Russia is trying to circumvent the sanctions imposed by its Western allies during the Ukraine war. The mostly older tankers have a higher risk of environmental pollution./pba/DP/zb
