The criminal trial concerning the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines began today at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. The defendant is Serhii K., a Ukrainian national who, at the time of the offences, was an officer in a special forces unit of the Ukrainian armed forces. The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of having led a seven-man commando unit in September 2022, which is alleged to have attached explosive devices to three pipeline sections from the ‘Andromeda’. How the ship was prepared for this and what connection there was to a charterer in Breege had already raised a number of nautical questions back in 2023.
A charter yacht to a pipeline demolition?
As reported in March 2023 by a joint investigative team comprising the ARD’s Berlin studio, SWR’s ‘Kontraste’ and *Die Zeit*, the saboteurs of the Nord Stream pipelines are said to have travelled to the scene of the crime by sailing yacht. In September 2022, major gas leaks occurred on Nord Stream 1 and 2 near Bornholm.
According to investigations by *Der Spiegel*, the Bavaria 50 “Andromeda” is said to have been chartered from a Breege-based charter company using forged passports and loaded with explosives. Subsequently, according to initial reports in *Die Zeit*, the yacht is said to have entered the harbour at Wieck on the Darß peninsula. However, that could not have been the case: the harbour has a water depth of just 1.40 metres, which is too shallow for the Bavaria 50.
Wieck am Darß or Wiek on Rügen
The information was later corrected: it was now stated that the port in question was Wiek on Rügen. Like Wieck on the Darß peninsula, Wiek on Rügen is also situated on the Bodden and is not necessarily known as an essential stopover between Rostock and Bornholm. The approach is via the Hiddensee fairway and then into the Wieker Bodden. Why the saboteurs accepted this detour was not apparent from the research carried out at the time.
The Decision of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) of 10 December 2025 mentions Wiek on Rügen. According to the state of the investigation described therein, the individuals involved are said to have boarded the vessel there. According to witnesses, diving equipment was taken off the vessel upon their return. The alleged charterer of the ‘Andromeda’, named by *Der Spiegel*, is based in neighbouring Breege and declined to comment when asked at the time.
A place on the ‘Andromeda’
In 2023, it was still largely unclear whether it was even possible to transport four divers and their equipment, other personnel and all the explosives on a Bavaria 50, and to lower the explosive charges into the water at the scene without a crane.
An expert’s assessment is now available on this matter. According to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), the yacht was structurally suitable for transporting the necessary equipment, travelling to the scene of the crime and serving as a base for diving operations there. Furthermore, when the yacht was hired, a request was made for a dinghy that could be used for diving. The ruling does not provide any further details regarding the expert’s findings. However, it remains unclear whether and how the explosive devices were actually launched into the water and attached to the pipelines.
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David Ingelfinger
Volontär
