Sweden Detains Russian "shadow Fleet" Tanker

• 3.04.2026, 13:10

Because of an oil spill in the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish Coast Guard this morning detained the sub-sanctioned tanker Flora 1, which is suspected of spilling oil in the Baltic Sea.

This was reported by Charter97.org citing an official statement from the Coast Guard.

The statement said that on Thursday, April 2, a Swedish Coast Guard plane detected an oil spill east of the island of Gotland - at the time the spill slick stretched 12 kilometers.

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

"The discovery of the vessel revealed that it is on the EU sanctions list, and several unclear circumstances surrounding the vessel, in particular regarding its flag," the statement said.

The Swedish Coast Guard brought the tanker, with 24 people on board, to a parking lot near the town of Ystad. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the police.

"We take action when we detect a spill. This is the result of our increased maritime surveillance, which we are carrying out because of the deteriorating security situation in the Baltic Sea region," emphasized Daniel Stenling, deputy chief of operations at the Coast Guard.