Overview
- The Swedish Coast Guard boarded and detained the tanker Flora 1 on Friday after a 12-kilometer oil slick found Thursday east of Gotland was traced to the ship.
- Flora 1 is anchored south of Ystad as police and coast guard officers run a preliminary probe into suspected environmental crimes under the direction of prosecutors.
- Authorities say the EU-listed vessel had flown several flags, was carrying oil with 24 crew on board, and may be linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet used to skirt sanctions.
- Vesselfinder recorded a March 27 departure from Russia’s Ust-Luga with Santos, Brazil listed as destination, while the coast guard reported conflicting voyage information from the ship.
- The coast guard called this the first time a spill has been traced to a sanctioned ship in Sweden, and officials noted it is the third boarding this year of a suspected false-flagged vessel, even as they stress the Baltic Sea’s ecosystem is highly sensitive.