Swedish Coast Guard Seizes Tanker in Baltic Oil Spill Case

The Swedish Coast Guard boarded and seized the oil tanker Flora 1 on Friday, suspecting it of causing a 12-kilometer oil spill in the Baltic Sea east of Gotland island, a move tied to the vessel's status on the European Union's sanctions list for transporting Russian oil.

The spill was detected early Thursday in waters off Sweden's eastern coast. Investigators quickly identified the Flora 1 as the likely source, prompting the boarding operation early Friday. The tanker, carrying a cargo of oil and 24 crew members, was escorted to an anchorage near Ystad on Sweden's southern coast, where it remains under guard. The Coast Guard and Swedish police have launched a preliminary investigation into a suspected environmental crime, though details on the spill's cause remain unclear.

According to maritime tracking data, the Flora 1 departed the Russian port of Primorsk, a major oil export terminal in the Gulf of Finland, on Tuesday. Its intended destination was Santos, Brazil. The vessel's flag status is uncertain; it is registered under Sierra Leone but has been accused of falsely claiming Benin's flag in the past. Ukrainian officials noted that the ship is owned by a Hong Kong-based...