Swedish authorities said they released the EU-sanctioned tanker Flora 1 after concluding they did not have enough evidence to link the vessel to an oil spill found in the Baltic Sea, according to the Swedish Coast Guard. The Coast Guard said the spill, which was detected Thursday, extended for about 12 kilometers (8 miles).
The Coast Guard said the investigation did not establish that the Flora 1 was at fault for the discharge. As a result, Swedish officials released the tanker that had been boarded and detained following suspicion tied to the vessel’s status on the sanctions list.
Investigators also worked to confirm the ship’s flag state. The Coast Guard said Cameroon confirmed that the Flora 1 was sailing under Cameroon’s flag, noting that the flag had not been clear when the ship and its 24-member crew were stopped Friday.
The Flora 1 has been part of a broader enforcement effort targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a term used for tankers operating outside restrictions that apply to companies handling Russian oil. The sanctions are aimed at limiting revenue for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by tightening compliance around a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven democracies and enforced through curbs on insurance and shipping services.
The EU’s listing of the Flora 1 was based on alleged practices that included “irregular and high-risk shipping practices.” The AP reported that the sanctions described such unsafe practices as including turning off automatic tracking systems that transmit a vessel’s location to other ships.
Swedish and other reporting also tied the tanker to patterns of evasive shipping behavior described in sanctions-related disclosures. The AP said the vessel has changed its name six times and its flag country nine times, and that it has been observed turning off its automatic tracking system and engaging in ship-to-ship transfers that can help obscure the origin of cargo.
Because the EU sanctions forbid transactions involving listed vessels, the Flora 1’s release does not end the sanctions listing described by authorities. Instead, it reflects that Swedish investigators said they could not prove the tanker’s responsibility for the Baltic Sea spill after completing the evidence review.