Sweden Detains Second Russian Sanctioned Tanker

The Swedish Coast Guard has detained a Russian sanctioned vessel for the second time in a week.

This time, the vessel was detained as a “stateless” one — the Sea Owl I, Reuters reports.

The vessel was taken into custody on Thursday, March 12. The tanker is suspected of using a false flag (it was sailing under the flag of the Comoros Islands).

“The threats to maritime security and the environment are too high,” said Daniel Stenling, deputy chief of operations for the Coast Guard, on Thursday. “Therefore, there are grounds for intervention against the vessel.”

Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bolin said that the vessel is suspected of belonging to the Russian “shadow fleet.”

Earlier, USM reported that Sweden had arrested a sanctioned dry cargo ship in the Baltic Sea: the crew was declared under suspicion.