Romanian arrested in Germany for attempted sabotage of German military corvettes

German authorities have arrested two men suspected of attempting to sabotage military vessels of the Federal Naval Forces in the port of Hamburg, in a case that shakes internal security and calls into question the control over work at strategic shipyards, according to a news report published yesterday by the ZDF website, which quotes the dpa news agency.

The cited source claims that, according to the attorney general's office, a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek were detained during an operation after investigators determined that they had knowingly manipulated and damaged vital components of corvettes built for the German navy at the Hamburg shipyard.

German authorities said, according to the source cited, that the perpetrators of the crime attempted to introduce more than 20 kilograms of abrasive granules, which are extremely harmful to the ships' engines, onto the military ships. The two men then introduced the granules directly into the corvettes' engines, and then cut the fresh water supply pipes, removed the fuel tank caps, and deactivated the safety switches of the electronic equipment, actions that, if not discovered in time, could have caused catastrophic damage or major delays in Germany's military operations.

The German investigation, coordinated by the Hamburg public prosecutor's office, in collaboration with judicial offices in Greece and Romania and with the support of Eurojust in The Hague, has revealed an alarming picture: the two men were employed at the shipyard when they decided to commit the crimes in question, which are classified as a deliberate attack on the fundamental defense instruments of the German state, in the context of an extremely tense European geopolitical climate.

According to official statements, the two defendants allegedly acted to compromise the condition of the corvettes in the port of Hamburg, i.e. warships essential for the projection of Germany's military power in the Baltic Sea and beyond. At this time, German prosecutors continue to evaluate the evidence collected and determine whether the two acted at the behest of third parties or as part of a wider network, given the sophisticated nature of the sabotage.

Amidst this investigation, the pressure on the German authorities to explain how it was possible for employees or contractors to penetrate and manipulate sensitive systems of military ships is immense. The case comes at a time when Germany and its NATO allies are already on high alert due to the increase in espionage activities, drone surveillance and acts of sabotage in Europe, phenomena associated, according to security analysts, with hybrid warfare strategies used by hostile states to weaken the cohesion and response capacity of the Alliance. In a previous report, the head of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, acknowledged last year that several ships had already been targeted by acts of sabotage, including the corvette "Emden", where metal fragments were discovered in the propulsion system, an incident that, if it had gone unnoticed, would have caused serious damage.