Police in Germany have raided and detained a foreign-registered cargo vessel for its alleged involvement in espionage targeting the country's maritime infrastructure.
The Saint Vincent and Grenadines-flagged, Estonian-owned general cargo ship Scanlark was underway in the Kiel Canal when a police raiding team boarded it and searched through its compartments on Sunday, September 7.
The vessel had departed Rotterdam and was en route to Finland at the time it was boarded. According to German media, the ship transits the canal regularly.
Officials have ordered the shutting down of public webcams along the canal as a security precaution. Access to the ship from shore has also been restricted.
Local prosecutors have alleged that an individual on Scanlark had launched a drone and flew it over a German Navy vessel, possibly to take photographs of the latter, in an undisclosed area on August 26.
Local news outlet SHZ said that the ship's crew consisted of Russian nationals. All have been detained on board the vessel and are being prohibited from disembarking as part of an ongoing investigation.