Nord Stream attacks: Sailing yacht with a stopover in Poland

Poland is playing a bigger role than previously known in the investigation into the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines: the suspicious boat “Andromeda” made a stopover there. The crew was even checked by authorities.

After the sailing yacht “Andromeda” left the port on Rügen, she headed across the open sea to Christiansø, a small Danish island. And directly. A short time later, at the end of September, explosive devices detonated on the Nord Stream pipelines. The story that has been known so far is about the boat that is said to have played a central role in the attacks. But now there are new indications: The route could have been different.

The “Andromeda” apparently made a stop in Poland. Related research by ARD“Süddeutsche Zeitung” and “Zeit” with international partners have now been officially confirmed by Polish authorities.

Control by Polish border guards

According to the public prosecutor’s office in Gdansk, the investigation should have shown that the yacht sailed from Wiek auf Rügen to Poland – with six people on board. After a twelve-hour stay, the boat left Polish waters again. The crew was even checked by Polish border guards.

However, the Polish public prosecutor emphasizes that according to the results of the investigation, no objects were loaded on board during the stay in the port. She comes to the interim conclusion: “The investigation lacks direct evidence that people on the yacht were involved in the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines.”

These new statements from Poland about the previous investigation results go beyond what has been reported so far. However, as the research also shows, there are other indications of the course of the voyage and the time of the stay of the “Andromeda” in Poland: According to this, the ship is said to have arrived in Kolberg, Poland, on September 19, 2022 – and thus probably on the return trip to Germany . It ran out again shortly afterwards. This was confirmed by an employee of the marina in Kolberg.

The pressure on Poland had recently increased after Warsaw’s role in the attack was discussed and some speculated. Similar to Ukraine, Poland had always strictly rejected the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. The public prosecutor’s office in Gdansk is now declaring that there is “not any evidence that would indicate that Polish citizens were involved in the pipeline blast.”

German investigators are still not ruling out any scenario

However, the German investigators are still not ruling out any scenario for the attack. For several months they have been following the hot trail of the approximately 15 meter long “Andromeda” – and continue to do so. The ship is said to have initially sailed from Rostock to Rügen. The people are said to have presented falsified passports to the boat rental company. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) later discovered traces of explosives on the yacht.

Just a few months before the explosions on the Baltic Sea pipelines, the Dutch military intelligence service MIVD had warned of just such a scenario: the spies had apparently been informed of an attack plan on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. According to explosive information from June 2022, Ukrainians are allegedly planning to rent a boat in order to use it to attack the natural gas pipes.

The tip from the Netherlands is said to have initially ended up with the US secret service CIA, which in turn informed European partner services, including the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) – albeit with the assessment that such an attack plan does not appear credible.

After the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, however, the Dutch military intelligence service reported again: the attack was carried out by Ukrainians, it was finally said, presumably with a boat that is said to have been rented on the German Baltic Sea coast. This was reported among others ARD and time”. And so the German investigators from the BKA and the Federal Police actually came across the “Andromeda”.

German and Polish investigators met in mid-May

The tracks quickly led the investigators in the direction of Ukraine. This is politically quite sensitive given the close cooperation against the Russian aggressor. The Germans held back for a long time with official requests for legal assistance. With Warsaw, they dared to go ahead for the first time: German and Polish investigators met in Poland in mid-May, and the BKA is said to have launched a European investigation order.

For example, the German officials are interested in the background of a dubious company based in Warsaw. The Andromeda is said to have been rented through the alleged travel agency “Feeria Lwowa”. The company is apparently a classic letterbox company. A few days ago, the business premises in Warsaw were searched, according to security circles. There is no official confirmation of this.

The exchange with Ukraine could become more complicated. In fact, according to the research, the German authorities are supposed to assume that one of the suspects is a Ukrainian national: a man in his mid-20s from a town south-east of Kiev. He is said to have previously served in an infantry unit. In order to compare his DNA, German investigators are said to have visited a woman in Frankfurt/Oder at the end of May – she is said to have a child with the Ukrainian.

Outcome uncertain

It is uncertain how the investigation will continue in the coming weeks. The German Attorney General is reluctant to make official statements. It is said that further requests for legal assistance in other countries, such as Scandinavia, but also to Eastern Europe are currently being prepared.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week that there was “very great” interest in clarification. But he didn’t want to talk about the trail to Ukraine. “Intelligence is secret, and when things are going well, they stay that way,” said Scholz.