New Suspects and Extradition Battles Intensify Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Inquiry: 

This is a follow up to a previous Industrial Diver Blog – More than two years after the mysterious underwater explosions severely damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, new developments in the German investigation have brought the role of specialized divers sharply into focus, leading to recent arrests and ongoing extradition disputes.

German prosecutors, who continue to lead the only active national investigation into the September 2022 sabotage, have reportedly identified a group of suspects with ties to Ukraine, several of whom are alleged to be trained divers. The focus is on a small team believed to have used a chartered sailing yacht, the Andromeda, to plant explosives on the seabed near the Danish island of Bornholm.

Key Diver Suspects Targeted

The most prominent new information revolves around two Ukrainian men:

• Volodymyr Z. (Diver/Instructor): Identified in media reports as Volodymyr Zhuravlov, a diving instructor. German authorities issued a European arrest warrant for him, alleging he was one of the divers who placed explosives on the pipelines. He was reportedly arrested near Warsaw, Poland, in late September 2025.
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  Extradition Blocked: In a significant legal development, a Polish court in October 2025 blocked his extradition to Germany and ordered his release. The judge reportedly suggested the attack could be viewed as a military action in a “just war” against Russia, thus not subject to criminal responsibility for the individual. This ruling drew a welcome from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Earlier reports from August 2024 indicated he had previously evaded an attempted arrest by fleeing to Ukraine.
• Serhii K. (Alleged Coordinator): Partially identified as Serhii K., he is suspected of being one of the operation’s coordinators. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 following a European arrest warrant from Germany. He is believed to have arranged the charter of the Andromeda using forged identity documents.
  • Extradition Challenge: An Italian court initially ordered his extradition to Germany, but his defense team has challenged this decision, appealing to Italy’s highest court.

The Diving Operation

German media reports, citing sources close to the investigation, suggest the group of saboteurs included multiple diving specialists. The operation, which involved diving to depths of around 80 meters to affix the explosives, would have required highly specialized equipment and training, including the use of mixed gases and lengthy decompression stops—a challenging task to execute from a standard chartered yacht like the Andromeda.

Investigators reportedly found residues of the high explosive HMX (octogen) on board the yacht after it was searched months after the sabotage. While the suspects’ motives and direct chain of command remain matters of diplomatic and investigative contention, the latest arrests and the explicit identification of a trained diver as an alleged participant mark the most concrete developments in uncovering the individuals behind the operation.

Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office continues its investigation, seeking to secure the extradition of the suspects and determine the full extent of the sabotage plot. The Polish court’s decision, however, highlights the diplomatic complexity surrounding the case, particularly the sensitive issue of prosecuting actions perceived by some as aimed at Russian interests amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Platform Raises Questions

Diving and explosives experts raised significant questions about the use of the small sailing yacht, the Andromeda, as the sole platform for the Nord Stream sabotage, primarily due to the extreme technical challenges of the deep-sea operation and the sheer volume of materials required.

The main reasons experts questioned the Andromeda theory are detailed below:

Extreme Depth and Decompression Needs

The explosions occurred at a depth of approximately 80 meters (260 feet). Diving to this depth in the cold, dark Baltic Sea water requires highly specialized skills and equipment:

• Gas Mixture (Tech Diving): Divers cannot breathe regular compressed air at this depth, as the nitrogen would cause severe narcosis and oxygen would become toxic. They must use Technical Diving (Tech Dive) protocols with Trimix (a blend of oxygen, helium, and nitrogen) or similar gas mixtures.
• Decompression Time: Even for a short working period on the pipeline (e.g., 15-20 minutes), the ascent would require hours of mandatory decompression stops at various shallower depths to prevent decompression sickness (“the bends”). A missed or shortened decompression schedule can lead to serious injury or death.
• Onboard Facilities: Performing multiple, long, deep-sea dives over several days—which would be necessary to hit three different pipeline locations—typically requires a decompression chamber on the surface support vessel. This chamber allows divers to complete their decompression in a controlled environment, which is highly unlikely to fit on a 50-foot charter yacht like the Andromeda.

The force of the explosions indicated a very large amount of high-grade explosive was used. This presents a logistical problem for a small yacht:

• Weight and Volume: Estimates for the total explosives ranged from several hundred kilograms to potentially over a ton. Transporting such a massive, heavy, and extremely hazardous payload, along with the numerous scuba tanks, compressors, rebreathers, and other heavy diving equipment (e.g., propulsion vehicles, sonar), would have significantly exceeded the normal payload capacity of a small, rented Bavaria C50 sailing yacht.
• Secrecy: A yacht loaded down with this volume of equipment, particularly with large, high-pressure gas cylinders for Trimix and potentially a decompression chamber, would be conspicuous and extremely difficult to hide from port officials or other vessels in a busy commercial area like the Baltic Sea.

The “Mother Ship” Theory

Because of these extreme challenges, many investigators and experts now believe the Andromeda did not act alone but was part of a larger, coordinated operation. The yacht’s role was more likely:

• Cover and Infiltration: The Andromeda provided an inconspicuous cover, allowing the operatives (who used forged passports) to enter German and European ports without scrutiny, avoiding the attention a larger, military-style vessel would attract.
• Rendezvous Point: The yacht may have served as a rendezvous vessel to meet with a larger “mother ship”—a professional diving support vessel or a “dark” ship—at sea. The explosives, specialized diving bell/platform, and bulk gas could have been transferred to the yacht’s crew for the final leg of the operation, or the divers could have been ferried from the Andromeda to the professional vessel to execute the dives.

In short, while the evidence on the Andromeda (traces of HMX and the yacht’s reconstructed path) links it to the sabotage, its physical limitations strongly suggest it served a logistical or cover function rather than operating as a self-contained, fully equipped deep-sea sabotage platform.

As was stated before, this is an ongoing situation and much of this information can change at a moments notice. 

Sources: Wsj, Al-jazeera, PBS, CBS