A German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) investigator told the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg that signatures on identity documents and rental contracts linked to the yacht Andromeda differed significantly. The vessel is alleged to have been used by Ukrainian divers who placed explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in autumn 2022.
The hearing focused on how investigators traced the yacht. The BKA had received a tip from Germany’s domestic intelligence service that people suspected of sabotage had rented a boat in Rostock. After checking boat companies and bookings, investigators identified a Rostock-based firm.
According to the investigator, a man using the name Pawel Shyshman first contacted the company on June 21, 2022, seeking a motorboat as soon as possible. He gave a Ukrainian mobile number while presenting himself as Romanian, and asked about renting a boat in the Baltic Sea, adding “no Russia.” He initially delayed providing identity documents, saying the people involved could not be reached or were updating their papers.
The documents eventually submitted included those of a purported skipper, Mikhail Popov, whose identity investigators also believe was false. The investigator said signatures on the papers varied markedly. He also noted that images of the documents had no metadata. Shyshman asked whether the boat had an automatic identification system, or AIS. After the rental company said it did not, he reportedly replied: “Then it is good for us.”
The two-week rental cost more than €11,000 and was paid in three instalments, including a substantial cash payment that covered the deposit. The group initially sought a larger boat, but after it was damaged during an earlier booking, the company provided the 15.5-metre Andromeda, which had five cabins and space for 11 people.
The investigator said the yacht was returned damaged and very dirty. Investigators later found fingerprints, blood traces and traces of explosives aboard. The bathing platform at the stern had numerous deep scratches and other damage, as did its lowering mechanism; a toilet was also damaged. Divers are alleged to have entered the water from the platform.
Former Ukrainian officer Serhij K. is on trial, among other allegations, for a war crime. Prosecutors accuse him of leading the group aboard the sailing yacht. He has been in pre-trial detention for more than a year and has so far remained silent. The report said his superiors in Ukraine had prohibited him from making a statement in court.
Sources: FAZ.