Sweden Seizes Sanctioned Oil Tanker Suspected of Being Source of Spill

STOCKHOLM, April 3 (Reuters) – The Swedish Coast Guard said on Friday it had seized an oil tanker in the Baltic Sea that is believed to be part of the Russian shadow fleet and suspected to be the source of a 12 km oil spill off the island of Gotland.

The Swedish Coast Guard has stepped up efforts to stop vessels connected with Russia in recent months. The tanker, Flora 1, was seized off Sweden’s southern coast, it said.

Flora 1 had embarked from Russian port Primorsk, with an unclear destination, according to MarineTraffic data.

The oil spill is not expected to reach shore, the Coast Guard said.

It said it had started an investigation regarding a suspected environmental crime. It said it understood the vessel was on the EU sanctions list, adding that its flag status was unclear.

“The Russian shadow fleet, consisting of older, poorly insured tankers that evade sanctions, poses a significant security and environmental threat,” Swedish Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin said on X, naming the Flora 1 in his comments.

“The government is taking the incident seriously, even though this time it is not a major oil spill.”

European nations have increased efforts to disrupt the so-called shadow fleet of tankers used by Moscow to fund its four-year war against Ukraine. Russia has condemned such moves as hostile.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Alison Williams)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.

Updated: May 27, 2026 (Originally published April 3, 2026)

Editorial Standards · Corrections · About gCaptain

This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 105,332 members