Campaigns wrap up in two state elections
September 19, 2026
Growing sabotage risk at Germany’s seaports — association
German ports on the North and Baltic Seas are facing growing risks to their security, a port association has said.
“The threat situation for German seaports has intensified considerably,” Florian Keisinger, the managing director of the Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS), told the Welt newspaper.
Keisinger said that as major hubs, ports were likely targets for cyberattacks, espionage and sabotage.
Norman Zurke, the managing director of the UVHH, an association representing the interests of employers at the port of Hamburg, told the paper that he felt cyberattacks were the main danger.
“However, the entire logistics sector is also already affected by sabotage,” he said.
He said that protecting critical infrastructure was a state responsibility and called for more investment by the federal government in protective measures for the port.
Bundeswehr to hold Hamburg drills
From September 24 to 26, the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, will be holding drills in Hamburg, entitled Red Storm Charlie, as they have in previous years.
Among other things, they will be cooperating with authorities at the port to rehearse responses to possible crisis situations and procedures for transporting troops and materiel to other locations via the sea.
Last year, some German navy corvettes were sabotaged at a Hamburg shipyard. State prosecutors investigated two employees over the incidents but have so far failed to find any culprits.
