Berlin will deploy tactical police unit to Baltic Sea port following Nord Stream explosions, reports say
Germany is said to be preparing to send specially trained divers to the Baltic Sea in response to prevent attacks akin to the Nord Stream sabotage. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Specialists manage counter-terrorism operations and include trained divers in their unit, according to Der Spiegel.
Germany’s Interior Ministry has decided to permanently station a police tactical unit at the Baltic Sea port of Neustadt to ensure a swift reaction to any possible attacks on “critical infrastructure,” as reported by Der Spiegel weekly on Friday.
This decision was reportedly influenced by the Nord Stream pipeline explosions in September 2022, which indicated a “clear” risk of “acts of sabotage,” as cited by security sources in the media outlet.
Included in this effort is GSG 9, the counterterrorism division of Germany’s Federal Police, which operates a maritime deployment unit known as GSG 9/2. This unit includes specially trained divers and is equipped with speedboats, according to Der Spiegel. They are also capable of operating from the vessels of Germany's Federal Police.
Other German media outlets noted that the ministry did not fully confirm Der Spiegel’s report regarding the unit’s redeployment, stating that it could not disclose “specific information” about the deployment locations of GSG 9 for “tactical reasons."
A spokesperson for the ministry informed reporters, “In the view of the current threats… through acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure or terrorist [attacks], a rapid crisis response ability is important.”
Bettina Hagedorn, a regional lawmaker in Schleswig-Holstein where Neustadt is situated, mentioned that the decision was finalized on Wednesday. She stated, “In Neustadt, the Federal Police has its own port… hosting four 86m-long emergency vessels,” which GSG 9 can utilize if necessary.
The Nord Stream gas pipelines, essential for transporting Russian gas to Germany and the wider European region, suffered ruptures due to underwater explosions in September 2022. Berlin initiated an investigation into the incident but has yet to publicly disclose any findings. Russia has frequently asserted that German authorities have declined to share information with them.
Western media have often reported that a privately funded group of Ukrainian divers was allegedly involved in the attack. Some reports suggested that this group acted on directives from General Valery Zaluzhny, who was later removed from his position and became Kiev’s ambassador to the UK.
Russia has claimed that the US may have been involved in the incident. In September, the Russian foreign intelligence agency, the SVR, alleged that Washington and London orchestrated the 2022 sabotage as an act of economic warfare against their EU allies, pressuring Berlin to conceal the truth.
In February 2023, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report claiming that Washington had instructed the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines. The US denied these allegations at the time, dismissing the report as “utterly false.”
German lawmaker Sahra Wagenknecht has also expressed concerns over the government’s lack of transparency regarding the matter, advocating for the formation of an independent parliamentary committee to conduct an investigation.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
Germany’s Interior Ministry has decided to permanently station a police tactical unit at the Baltic Sea port of Neustadt to ensure a swift reaction to any possible attacks on “critical infrastructure,” as reported by Der Spiegel weekly on Friday.
This decision was reportedly influenced by the Nord Stream pipeline explosions in September 2022, which indicated a “clear” risk of “acts of sabotage,” as cited by security sources in the media outlet.
Included in this effort is GSG 9, the counterterrorism division of Germany’s Federal Police, which operates a maritime deployment unit known as GSG 9/2. This unit includes specially trained divers and is equipped with speedboats, according to Der Spiegel. They are also capable of operating from the vessels of Germany's Federal Police.
Other German media outlets noted that the ministry did not fully confirm Der Spiegel’s report regarding the unit’s redeployment, stating that it could not disclose “specific information” about the deployment locations of GSG 9 for “tactical reasons."
A spokesperson for the ministry informed reporters, “In the view of the current threats… through acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure or terrorist [attacks], a rapid crisis response ability is important.”
Bettina Hagedorn, a regional lawmaker in Schleswig-Holstein where Neustadt is situated, mentioned that the decision was finalized on Wednesday. She stated, “In Neustadt, the Federal Police has its own port… hosting four 86m-long emergency vessels,” which GSG 9 can utilize if necessary.
The Nord Stream gas pipelines, essential for transporting Russian gas to Germany and the wider European region, suffered ruptures due to underwater explosions in September 2022. Berlin initiated an investigation into the incident but has yet to publicly disclose any findings. Russia has frequently asserted that German authorities have declined to share information with them.
Western media have often reported that a privately funded group of Ukrainian divers was allegedly involved in the attack. Some reports suggested that this group acted on directives from General Valery Zaluzhny, who was later removed from his position and became Kiev’s ambassador to the UK.
Russia has claimed that the US may have been involved in the incident. In September, the Russian foreign intelligence agency, the SVR, alleged that Washington and London orchestrated the 2022 sabotage as an act of economic warfare against their EU allies, pressuring Berlin to conceal the truth.
In February 2023, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report claiming that Washington had instructed the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines. The US denied these allegations at the time, dismissing the report as “utterly false.”
German lawmaker Sahra Wagenknecht has also expressed concerns over the government’s lack of transparency regarding the matter, advocating for the formation of an independent parliamentary committee to conduct an investigation.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
