Sweden frees Russian tanker suspected of causing coastal oil spill

The Swedish Coast Guard said on Friday it had released an oil tanker believed to be part of a Russian "shadow fleet" that it suspects is the source of a 12 kilometres oil spill off the island of Gotland.

The tanker, which was seized in the Baltic Sea, is believed to be part of a fleet of "shadow tankers" that Moscow has been using to fund its four-year war against Ukraine.

European nations, including Sweden, have increased efforts to disrupt the fleet, moves that Russia has condemned as hostile.

The tanker, Flora 1, was seized off Sweden's southern coast, the Swedish Coast Guard said. It had embarked from the Russian port Primorsk with an unclear destination, according to MarineTraffic data. The oil spill is not expected to reach shore, the coast guard said.