Swedish police boarded a cargo ship off Gotland's northwestern coast overnight on October 31 and inspected the crew's documents. Police spokesperson Carina Skagerlind confirmed the boarding and document checks. In a statement to SVT, Skagerlind described it as a border inspection and said the crew’s travel documents were in order. Swedish broadcaster TV4, citing its own sources, reported possible links between the vessel's operator and Russian intelligence operations. Police did not confirm those allegations.
According to TV4, the ship is more than 80 meters long and its operating company has links to premises in Kaliningrad. The broadcaster also claimed the crew consisted of Russian nationals. Police did not officially confirm the sailors' nationalities.
TV4's sources said a national police special operations unit took part in the inspection. Skagerlind did not specify which police units or resources were deployed.
European intelligence sources cited by TV4 suggested that ships operated by the company may have acted on behalf of the Russian state. One possibility under examination was that vessels could serve as bases for drones. The broadcaster presented no evidence that the specific cargo ship inspected had been involved in such activities.