Frankfurt, Germany — Swedish authorities have released an EU-sanctioned tanker that was detained on suspicion of causing an oil spill in the Baltic Sea.
The Swedish coast guard said it had not found enough evidence that the Flora 1 tanker was at fault for the 12 kilometers (8 miles) long leak discovered on Thursday.
Investigators also established that Cameroon had confirmed the ship was sailing under that country’s flag, which was not clear when the ship and its 24-member crew were stopped on Friday, the coast guard said.
Flora 1 was placed on the EU’s list of vessels sanctioned for carrying Russian oil “practicing unregulated and high-risk shipping practices”. Unsafe practices may include turning off automated tracking systems that transmit a ship’s location to other ships.
The sanctions target the “shadow fleet” that emerged in response to the Group of Seven democracies imposing a price cap on Russian oil to limit revenues funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The limit was enforced by preventing insurance and shipping companies from handling oil above the limit.
The fleet is made up of owned and insured older tankers located in countries that are not complying with the price cap. The age of the ships and their lack of Western insurance has raised safety concerns about the oil spill and who will foot the cleanup bill.
According to the Ukrainian government, Flora 1 was owned by a Hong Kong company until the end of 2025 and has also been approved by the UK, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia. It has changed its name six times and its flag country nine times. It has been observed turning off its automated tracking systems, a move that conceals a ship’s location, and engaging in ship-to-ship transfers, which may be a way to hide the origin of oil cargo.
The sanctions prohibit any transactions involving designated vessels.
