Security analysts say Russia is operating a large “shadow fleet” of hundreds of vessels, seeking to dodge the sanctions Western nations imposed on its oil exports over the war in Ukraine.

An oil tanker believed to belong to Russia's "shadow fleet" and suspected of sabotaging undersea Baltic cables has been allowed to leave Finland's waters, where it has been held since December, Finnish police said.

A Russian-linked tanker, suspected of damaging Baltic cables, has been cleared to leave Finnish waters after investigators found no further grounds to hold it.

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Swedish police said on Friday they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea, and the country’s coast guard deployed a vessel to the area where multiple seabed cables have been damaged in recent months.

Finland will release an oil tanker which investigators believe broke a Baltic Sea power cable and four internet lines late last year, and will escort the vessel to international waters even as the criminal probe continues,