Sweden Boards and Detains Russian Gun-Running Vessel

Sweden's customs agency has completed an investigation aboard the Russian cargo ship Adler, which broke down in the Kattegat and was inspected by Swedish forces on Sunday night. The case has been forwarded to an organized crime prosecutor, according to Swedish outlet SVT.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Adler (IMO 9179854) had just completed an outbound transit of the Oresund and entered the Kattegat when the crew reported a mechanical casualty. The vessel issued a distress call and went to anchor near the coast of the Kullen Peninsula, just off the town of Nyhamnslage, AIS data provided by Pole Star Global shows.

A combined force of law enforcement officers and Swedish coast guard personnel boarded the ship to conduct an examination on Sunday. The ship's crew cooperated in the inspection, Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin told national media. He said that his ministry had been coordinating closely with Swedish law enforcement throughout the operation.

Charges have been recommended to Swedish prosecutors, and the ship has been detained for now. She is being monitored by the Swedish coast guard patrol vessel KBV 001.

"They are not allowed to sail further without the go-ahead from the prosecutor," Swedish Customs Press Secretary Martin Hoglund told Sweden's SVT.

Adler is a known arms-running vessel owned by M Leasing LLC, and the ship and owner are both sanctioned by the United States. The ship is believed to be involved in transporting munitions from North Korea to Russia for use on the front in Ukraine. Within the last year, the ship has also traded between ports in western Russia and ports in Africa, where Russian contractors have ongoing paramilitary operations, according to OpenSanctions.

AIS data provided by Pole Star Global shows that she called in St. Petersburg's Bronka container terminal on Dec. 15 before heading out through the Baltic.

The boarding and detention of Adler illustrates NATO member states' increasing willingness to interdict Russian-linked tonnage when circumstances suggest suspicious activity. Previous examples include the arrest of the tanker Eagle S after a cable-cutting incident and the boarding of the tankerBoracay in September 2025. Both resulted in criminal charges against top officers.