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Two arrests made for suspected sabotage
One year after dangerous material was discovered in the engine of the "Emden" a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek national have been arrested on Feb 3, 2026, being accused of further acts of sabotage. In January 2025, something suspicious was noticed on the "Emden" during an inspection at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in the port of Hamburg. Several kilograms of material had been dumped into the ship's propulsion system. According to experts, these actions could have caused considerable damage. The Hamburg State Criminal Police Office and the public prosecutor's office launched investigations and have now announced that it was likely a case of sabotage. The arrest warrants were subsequently executed in Hamburg and in a village in Greece. Their residences in Hamburg, Romania, and Greece were searched. The seized evidence is currently being evaluated. The two suspects were accused of carrying out acts of sabotage on several corvettes destined for the German Armed Forces at the shipyard in 2025. They were alleged to have poured more than 20 kilograms of rock grit into the engine. They were also accused of other offenses, including puncturing freshwater lines. Furthermore, they were alleged to have removed fuel tank caps and deactivated safety switches in the ship's electronics. These actions could have led to significant damage to the ships or at least to their delayed departure, thereby endangering the security of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2025, there were several cases of suspected sabotage in the German Navy. For example, someone cut wiring harnesses on a warship, and in another case, waste oil was apparently deliberately introduced into a ship's drinking water system. In both cases, the public prosecutor's offices closed their investigations. Only in Hamburg, in the case involving metal shavings, did the judiciary continue its investigation, but until recently, it provided no information on the status of the investigation. Western security circles believed Russia was behind many such attacks.
Suspected sabotage on corvette discovered
Security authorities are currently dealing with a suspected act of sabotage on the "Emden". According to this, the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office has taken over the case. The Inspector of the Navy, Jan Christian Kaack, confirmed that saboteurs had even caused targeted damage to warships in Germany in more than one case. There was "destruction, i.e. sabotage, on more than one unit". Appropriate measures have been taken in the shipyards. Unknown persons have dumped dozens of kilograms of metal shavings into the propulsion of the "Emden". This was discovered during an inspection of the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg shortly before the first departure from there on Jan 13, 2025. The ship has been cleaned before it went into operation. The shipyard has not yet handed the ship over to the Navy. According to naval experts, such pieces of metal can cause considerable damage to the ship if they are not discovered - and possibly delay delivery to the German Navy for a long time. The background to the sabotage attempts is still unclear. The 'Emden', however, is to be used for maritime surveillance, an important task, especially at a time when NATO is warning of an increase in hybrid attacks by Russia, including in the Baltic Sea region.
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