Nord Steam theory says bombers on a chartered yacht received explosives in a picturesque German port
A yacht chartered by six shadowy agents with fake passports, explosives delivered to the crew in the dead of night, and a mysterious organization outside the control of a nation state.
These are ingredients of a compelling new theory that is beginning to emerge for the unsolved bombing attacks on the $20 billion Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on September 26, 2022.
The huge explosions caused an estimated $500 million in damage and leave serious doubts as to whether this important infrastructure network, built to transport gas from Russia to Western Europe, will ever be repaired. The attack set off an ongoing blame game between Moscow and the West as international authorities scramble to identify a culprit.
Researchers have now zeroed in on a 50-foot sailing yacht, called the Andromeda, as a crucial piece in the puzzle. Andromeda left a German port in early September with six people who chartered the ship with high-quality fake passports and then embarked on a voyage that took it directly over the area of the blast.
In another intriguing twist, a huge tanker, the Minerva Julie, spent an entire week circling a section of the ocean eerily close to the area around the same time as the Andromeda voyage. It has led some observers to wonder: was this more than a coincidence?
A theory has emerged about the Nord Stream attacks that speculates that a yacht chartered in Germany was used by agents who planted the bombs. The group is believed to have received the explosives in a picturesque German port town before embarking on the voyage.
Investigators have zeroed in on this 50-foot sailing yacht, called the Andromeda, as a crucial piece in the mystery of who attacked the Nord Stream pipelines. The yacht was chartered by six people using false identification and embarked on a voyage over the blast sites in the Baltic Sea.
The Andromeda voyage coincided with a period in which Minerva Julie (pictured) spent a week circling an area of ocean near where the Nord Stream attack occurred. The ship’s owners said she was simply “waiting for instructions on her next voyage.”
Andromeda left its port in Rostock, Germany, on September 6. The ship was chartered by six unknown persons who provided false identification documents and indicated to the staff of the yacht owner, Mola Yachting GmbH, that they were planning a cruise on the Baltic Sea.
The boat rental was covered by a company registered in Poland, according to German officials. That company is believed to be controlled by Ukrainian owners.
The day after leaving Rostock, the ship arrived at Wiek, a much smaller German port city about 60 miles to the northeast.
German authorities believe that it was here that the yacht’s crew received the explosives used to blow up the pipelines. They have speculated that the bombs were delivered to the crew in a white van overnight, when surveillance cameras were not monitoring the port.
Investigators, who also suspect that more agents may have arrived that night to help with the mission, searched Andromeda in late January and found traces of explosives inside.
Wiek Harbor Master Renee Redmann said she was not thinking of the half-dozen crew who arrived on the yacht. She only knew something was wrong when authorities contacted him in January and asked him to hand over the port records.
It is not clear exactly how long the Andromeda stayed in Wiek before continuing on its journey.
But from there, the crew traveled northeast further into the Baltic Sea, and into the area of ocean above where the Nord Stream pipelines were attacked 80 meters below the surface.
What happened next is not entirely clear. The boat was small enough not to be equipped with a tracking device found on large commercial ships.
The ship arrived in Wiek on September 7. It has been speculated that the bombs were delivered to the crew in a white van overnight, when surveillance cameras were not monitoring the port.
Tracking data from Minerva Julie shows that she spent about a week in the area where the explosions occurred. The ship’s owners said she was simply “waiting for instructions on her next voyage.”
What is known is that Andromeda finally docked again in mid-September on the small Danish island of Christiansø, ten miles from the larger island of Bornholm and just a few miles from the blast sites.
Danish police contacted Christiansø’s administrator, Søren Thiim Andersen, in December for information about the ships that entered its main port between 16 and 18 September. Police also told Andersen to ask island residents for any photos or videos taken in ports on those dates.
The entire trip took about two weeks before Andromeda returned to Rostock. Days later, the bombs were detonated, severely damaging pipelines and releasing tens of thousands of tons of methane gas.
Researchers are now trying to piece together how the shadow crew aboard the Andromeda might have carried out the attacks during its voyage. Military officials agree that such an operation would require advanced equipment, a large quantity of explosives, and a highly trained and well-funded crew. Some dispute that such a mission could be carried out from a five-cabin charter yacht.
The mystery is compounded by the movements of an oil tanker named Minerva Julie during a week in September.
The 600-foot-long Greek-flagged tanker was heading east from Rotterdam when it stopped in the Baltic Sea and spent seven days, from September 5 to 13, circling an area of ocean near where the pipelines were headed. .
Minerva Maritime, the ship’s owners, said on March 10 that the ship was simply “waiting for instructions on its next voyage.”
Open source intelligence analyst Oliver Alexander, who has done detailed analysis of Andromeda’s movements, speculated on substack that the yacht could have carried the equipment and supplies to the Minerva Julie, a large ship much better equipped for such a mission.
US intelligence officials recently said that a pro-Ukrainian group may have carried out the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the United States is responsible
Russia was also accused of carrying out the Nord Stream gas explosions. Explanations range from scuba divers to spy submarines to underwater drones, with a possible motive to cripple Europe’s winter power supplies.
A report by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that the United States was responsible for the attacks on the Nord Stream pipeline. Navy divers allegedly planted the explosives in June, using NATO exercises as a cover. They were then remotely detonated in September, it is claimed.
Investigators and some intelligence officials are also considering the view that the culprits were not acting on behalf of a nation state. In other words, they did not have the power and resources of a government or army behind them.
The suspicion was given further weight last week when US intelligence officials reported that a pro-Ukrainian group may have carried out the attack without the knowledge of President Volodymyr Zelensky or his government.
The Andromeda-centered theory is the latest to emerge about how the attacks were carried out and who was responsible.
A sensational and highly controversial report by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in February claimed that specialized US Navy dive teams carried out the attack during a top-secret mission overseen by President Joe Biden. .
The White House and the CIA strongly rejected the report, calling it “complete fiction.”
Russia has blamed the United States for the attacks and Vladimir Putin said last week that any speculation about Ukraine’s responsibility is “sheer nonsense.” US intelligence has said a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible. The UK was also previously accused by Russia.