- Armed Police Raid, Divers Search Hull During Operation.
- Russian Crew Detained After Extended Investigation.
- Prosecutors Link Vessel to Drone Over German Warship.
German authorities seized a cargo vessel in the Kiel Canal on September 7 on suspicion it was used to launch a Russian spy drone against German military assets. The 75-metre, 2,000 dwt dry cargo vessel was intercepted at the southern Kiel-Holtenau lock around 4 p.m., where armed special police boarded the ship while divers inspected its hull. A rubber police launch circled the vessel during the raid, with webcams along the canal switched off, the observation deck closed, and access from the shore blocked, reports Marine Insight.
Extended Search and Crew Detention
The search carried on into the next day. The crew, who are said to be Russian nationals, were held back and not allowed to leave the ship. Prosecutors in Flensburg, along with the criminal police from Schleswig-Holstein, indicated that there’s solid evidence suggesting a drone was launched from the vessel on August 26. Investigators believe the drone may have flown over a German Navy warship to collect intelligence and take pictures. German media outlets, including Bild, have reported that the aircraft could be Russian, although officials have yet to confirm this.
Evidence and Espionage Suspicions
Kieler Nachrichten has reported that evidence discovered on board has fueled suspicions of espionage. Schleswig-Holstein’s Interior Minister, Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, along with Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister, Daniela Behrens, indicated that the vessel is believed to have been used as a base for drone operations aimed at critical infrastructure in northern Germany. Behrens emphasised that this action was essential to protect against “hybrid threats and dangers to security,” while both ministers referred to the raid as a “strong signal” of upholding the rule of law.
Security and Investigations
German police said the operation was part of an investigation into spying, sabotage, and “security-threatening imaging,” aimed at preventing threats to maritime infrastructure. Estonian media outlet ERR quoted the operator dismissing the allegations as “stupidity” and calling the spying claims “laughable” and “nonsense.”
Vessel Background and Rising Drone Activity
The 40-year-old cargo vessel regularly transits the Kiel Canal. Before being stopped, it had departed Rotterdam with Finland listed as its next destination. German authorities have been on heightened alert following increased drone activity near military and energy sites. Official reports noted 536 suspicious drone flights in Germany in the first three months of 2025 alone. In May, drones were spotted near a military site in Kiel, and days later, a German patrol vessel reported being shadowed by a drone. Belgian police were also asked to inspect another cargo ship suspected of similar activity.
Security Analysts’ Warnings
Security experts have raised alarms that Russia might be utilising older cargo ships and tankers from its so-called “shadow fleet” not just to dodge EU and U.S. sanctions, but also to launch drones for reconnaissance missions in the Baltic and North Seas. Analysts shared with European media that such operations are “entirely possible,” but keeping tabs on every ship in the area would be a nearly impossible task.
Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project pointed out the hurdles within the German legal framework, noting that while drones flying over military sites are under the Bundeswehr’s jurisdiction, those hovering near civilian infrastructure like LNG terminals fall under the local police’s authority. He also mentioned that if drones are launched from international waters, Germany can’t intervene until they cross into its airspace.
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Source: Marine Insight
