Sweden detains sanctioned tanker after oil spill in Baltic Sea

The statement says that on Thursday, April 2, a Swedish Coast Guard aircraft detected an oil spill east of the island of Gotland—at that time, the spill extended 12 kilometers.

The tanker Flora 1 was quickly identified as a vessel of interest to the investigation. It was sailing from a port in the Gulf of Finland with an unknown destination.

"In connection with the detection, it was found that the ship is on the EU sanctions list and several unclear circumstances surrounds the vessel, including its flag status," the statement says.

The Swedish Coast Guard escorted the tanker, which had 24 people on board, to a mooring near the city of Ystad. The operation was conducted in cooperation with the police.

"We act when we detect emissions. This is a result of our enhanced maritime surveillance that we are conducting as a result of the deteriorating security situation in the Baltic Sea region," emphasizes Daniel Stenling, deputy head of the Coast Guard’s Operations Directorate.

Russian tankers seizure

Recently, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported on the Kremlin’s plans to increase the number of oil tankers sailing under the Russian flag. Moscow took this step due to frequent detentions of ships carrying Russian oil.

In addition, Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to Putin, recently announced that Russia plans to deploy military ships and mobile fire groups to protect tankers and other vessels of the shadow fleet.

Incidentally, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine was working with the EU on legislative changes that will allow for the confiscation of Russian and Iranian oil from ships in the shadow fleet.