Overview
- Coast Guard aircraft spotted a more than 12‑kilometer oil slick east of Gotland on Thursday, and officers boarded the tanker Flora 1 on Friday before anchoring it off Ystad.
- A preliminary environmental crime investigation is under way, the 24 crew members are being questioned, and the vessel remains loaded with oil.
- Officials said the spill occurred in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone outside territorial waters, and the service called this its first seizure of a sanctioned ship under those rules.
- Authorities say the tanker appears on the EU sanctions list and may be part of the so‑called shadow fleet, its flag status is unclear, and forecasts suggest the slick will not reach shore.
- Ship‑tracking data differ on the last port of call, citing Primorsk or Ust‑Luga, and this marks the third such boarding in about a month as EU states tighten checks that Moscow has denounced.