Two suspects have been arrested in Germany and Greece on suspicion of attempted sabotage of German naval vessels in the port of Hamburg. That reports Eurojust, the European judicial cooperation body. It concerns a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek who worked in the northern German port, according to German media.
The sabotage attempts took place last year. The two suspects are said to have dumped more than 20 kilograms of gravel into the engine block of German naval ships. They also allegedly punctured water pipes, removed fuel tank caps and disabled electronic safety switches. It is not known exactly how many ships are involved.
“If these actions had gone unnoticed, they would have caused significant damage to the ships and delayed their departure, endangering the operations of the German Navy,” Eurojust said.
Patrol ship
German media revealed last year the sabotage attempts and wrote that it was the new German warship called ‘Emden’. The ship, which was still stationed in a shipyard in Hamburg, has to patrol the Baltic Sea due to tensions between Russia and NATO countries. Shortly before departure in January last year, a large amount of gravel was found in the engine block during an inspection.
Eurojust coordinated cooperation between the German, Greek and Romanian authorities. The suspects’ homes in Germany, Greece and Romania were searched and evidence was seized. The underlying reason for these sabotage attempts is still unknown. It was not explained whether it could have anything to do with the Russian threat.
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