Germany searches a ship suspected of carrying explosives used in Nord Stream pipeline attack

Gas from a leak from the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea on September 27.
Gas from the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline leak in the Baltic Sea on September 27. (Swedish Coast Guard/Getty Images)

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office searched a ship in January suspected of carrying explosives used in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline explosion in September, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

“The German Prosecutor General’s Office conducted a search of a ship in connection with a suspicious ship charter between January 18 and 20, 2023,” the statement detailed.

“Traces and items seized are being assessed. The identity of the perpetrators and their motives are the subject of an ongoing investigation,” it said.

It added that the investigation was ongoing and it was too early to issue a reliable statement, especially about whether the state controlled the programmes.

It follows media reports citing new intelligence that last year’s attack may have been behind a “pro-Ukrainian group”.

“There is no reason to suspect employees of the German company that chartered the ship,” the office said.

Further details from the German public broadcaster: The ship left the Baltic port of Rostock, Germany, on September 6, 2022, according to German public broadcaster ARD, citing its own investigations. The ARD report cited unnamed security sources from five countries.

The boat was carrying six people: a captain, two divers, two assistant divers and a doctor, ARD said. The nationalities of the six individuals are not yet known, according to ARD. The broadcaster said the group used professionally forged passports to charter the ship.

It said a truck had previously delivered the group’s equipment to the port.

ARD said that based on its research, investigators were able to piece together the ship’s route after Sept. 6: It traveled to the German municipality of Wik, east of Rostock, and possibly also stopped at Christian Island in northeastern Denmark. Bornholm.

According to ARD, the ship returned in a dirty state and, according to the broadcaster’s research, investigators were able to find traces of explosives on a table in the cabin.

When asked for more details, the German prosecutor’s office declined to provide further information.

CNN has also approached the port of Rostock and is awaiting a response, but today is a public holiday.

Source link