Sweden Seizes Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker in the Baltic Sea

The Swedish Coast Guard has detained the tanker Sea Owl I, which is suspected of being connected to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet.’

The Swedish Coast Guard’s press service reported the incident.

At around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, officers boarded the 228-meter vessel in the Baltic Sea.

Formally, the tanker was sailing under the flag of the Comoros. However, law enforcement authorities suspect that the flag was being used illegally.

In addition, the tanker Sea Owl I is included on the sanctions list of the European Union.

Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Sweden’s Minister for Civil Defence, said the vessel may be linked to Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet,’ which is used to circumvent international sanctions.

Data from MarineTraffic shows that the detained tanker recently entered the Baltic Sea. The vessel is currently located off the Swedish coast, opposite the city of Trelleborg.

This is already the second similar incident in the Baltic Sea in the past week.

Not only tankers are part of the ‘shadow fleet’

Earlier, the Swedish Coast Guard boarded the bulk carrier Caffa, which was sailing under the flag of Guinea. The vessel is also suspected of being involved in schemes to circumvent sanctions.

At the time it was intercepted, the bulk carrier was sailing from Casablanca to Saint Petersburg.

In July 2025, the ship loaded stolen grain in occupied Sevastopol. During the summer, the vessel changed its flag from Russian to Guinean in an attempt to conceal its activities.

At the beginning of 2026, it became known that oil tankers under sanctions had begun massively transferring to Russian jurisdiction in an attempt to protect themselves from interception and seizures by the United States.