The Swedish coast guard has seized the Flora 1 tanker in the Baltic Sea on suspicion of involvement in an oil spill off the island of Gotland, the agency said, quoted by "Reuters".
The spill was discovered on Thursday morning, and a day later authorities took action against the vessel, which is under European Union sanctions. At the time of the seizure, the tanker was sailing outside Sweden's territorial waters, but in its exclusive economic zone.
The ship, loaded with oil, has 24 crew members on board. According to Swedish authorities, the vessel traveled from the Gulf of Finland in an unknown direction.
The Coast Guard specifies that under international law, a state has the right to require the crew to direct the vessel to its territorial waters and drop anchor when there are suspicions of an environmental crime. The investigation into the case is ongoing.