German prosecutors drop probe into navy sabotage suspects

An investigation into two men suspected of attempting to sabotage German naval vessels last year has been stopped for lack of evidence, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The two men, a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek, were arrested in February on suspicion of acts of sabotage targeting vessels to be delivered to the German navy.

The men, who worked at the Hamburg port at the time, were accused of putting more than 20 kilogrammes (about 40 pounds) of grit into one ship's engine block, puncturing water supply lines, removing caps from fuel tanks and deactivating electronic safety switches.

The attempted sabotage was discovered in time to avoid any further damage.

The suspects were freed from detention in March while the investigation continued.

But prosecutors told AFP on Tuesday that "proceedings against both suspects have been discontinued".

They added that they are "convinced that the corvettes were tampered with, in particular through cutting off the electricity on the 'Koeln'", one of the ships.

At the time of their arrest, news weekly Der Spiegel reported that the Koeln corvette had been targeted in June 2025, while another corvette, the Emden, was affected by an incident earlier that year.

Both are part of a group of five vessels built for the German navy since 2019 in an effort to modernise and strengthen the fleet.

Prosecutors said "it could not be established which of the two suspects carried out the alleged activity with the degree of certainty needed to file charges".

Nor could it be proven that two acted as "co-conspirators on the basis of a joint plan", they added.

One suspect denied the allegations while the other refused to answer questions.

Germany and other NATO members across Europe are on high alert over suspected Russian espionage, drone surveillance and sabotage amid Moscow's ongoing war against Ukraine.

Last week an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, a key military equipment transport hub.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the incident a "hybrid attack scenario" potentially involving a "foreign power", but did not name Russia.