Hamburg German arrest warrants for attempted sabotage of naval vessel
Arrest warrants have been issued for two men on suspicion of attempted sabotage of a ship intended for the German Navy. The arrests were made in Hamburg in northern Germany and in Greece.
03.02.2026, 14:41
SDA
This was announced by the Hamburg Public Prosecutor General's Office. The suspects are a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek.
According to the information, the suspects' homes in Hamburg, Romania and Greece were also searched. In addition to the European judicial authority Eurojust in The Hague, the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office and Greek and Romanian law enforcement authorities were also involved.
The two suspects are alleged to have carried out acts of sabotage on several corvettes while working in the port of Hamburg last year. The ships were located at a shipyard and were destined for the German Navy.
Considerable damage feared
Some of them acted alone, others in concert, allegedly inserting over 20 kilograms of blasting grit into the engine block of one of the ships, puncturing fresh water supply lines, removing fuel tank caps and deactivating fuse switches on the ship's electronics.
If the respective acts of sabotage had remained undetected, they could have led to considerable damage to the ships or at any rate to their delayed departure, thereby jeopardizing the security of the Federal Republic of Germany and the effectiveness of the troops, the report continued.
According to the Public Prosecutor General's Office, the evaluation of the evidence seized is ongoing. The question of possible clients of the accused is also being examined as part of the investigation.
Events on corvette "Emden" the subject of the investigation
The inspector of the navy, Jan Christian Kaack, reported in February last year that saboteurs had caused targeted damage to warships in Germany in more than one case.
There was "destruction, i.e. sabotage, on more than one unit", said the Vice Admiral at the "Navy Talks" in Berlin. Corresponding measures had been taken in the shipyards. WDR, NDR and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" had reported at the time that the corvette "Emden", which was built by the Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss but not initially delivered to the navy, had been a sabotage target.
A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office told dpa that the events on the "Emden" were the subject of the investigation, but that the arrest warrant related to an alleged act on another ship.
