Sweden allows Sea Owl I tanker to resume sailing

The transport agency lifted the vessel's operating ban after confirming its registration under Equatorial Guinea's flag. The tanker had remained off Trelleborg since March.

Sweden's coast guard announced the decision on October 12. The transport agency confirmed the vessel's entry in Equatorial Guinea's ship register. Permission to leave its anchorage does not establish that it has already departed.

Swedish authorities boarded Sea Owl I on March 12. The coast guard said the vessel had seaworthiness deficiencies and was falsely claiming a Comoros flag. In May, the tanker reported switching to Cameroon, but the agency also found that claim false.

The coast guard said the tanker was on the European Union's sanctions list but was not suspected of a sanctions offence. Investigations involving two successive captains, including suspected use of false documents, have been closed.

The decision concerns Sea Owl I alone. The cargo vessel Caffa remains seized by police in Trelleborg port, while the tanker Jin Hui remains at anchor under an operating ban.