The Swedish Coast Guard on April 3 released the chemical tanker Flora 1, a vessel suspected of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” following an investigation into a 12-kilometer (8-mile) oil spill in the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported.
The EU-sanctioned vessel was reportedly en route from the Russian port of Primorsk to Santos, Brazil, when the spill was detected east of the island of Gotland. Swedish authorities boarded the tanker near the country’s southern coast on Friday but released the ship and its 24-man Asian crew later that same day, according to Reuters.
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The Swedish Prosecution Authority confirmed it had questioned the crew and notified two individuals they suspected of committing environmental crimes. However, no arrests were made.
“The spill occurred within Sweden’s economic zone, which means that the investigative measures we can take are limited,” the Prosecution Authority said.
“We have conducted the interviews that were deemed necessary and we will not take any coercive measures due to this suspected crime.”
Swedish Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin stated that the government is taking the incident seriously, Reuters noted.
“The Russian shadow fleet, consisting of older, poorly insured tankers that evade sanctions, poses a significant security and environmental threat,” Bohlin wrote on X.
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