Scandal on the Baltic Sea: Ferry Berlin stops - 500 travelers affected!

Scandal on the Baltic Sea: Ferry Berlin stops - 500 travelers affected!

An unusual incident caused a sensation on the Baltic Sea today when the hybrid ferry "Berlin" had to be brought to a standstill on its route from Rostock to Gedser due to a mechanical defect. Captain Jörg Ellner stated that Denmark was only 20 meters away, but had to turn the ferry, which gave the approximately 500 passengers an unexpected return to Rostock and resulted in a delay of seven hours. Many of the travelers reacted differently to the situation. While some considered the inconvenience as an adventure, others were rather desperate, as passenger Regina reported.

The location on the car deck was particularly tense, where many passengers stayed in the car for over an hour without obtaining extensive information. The crew of the ferry tried to communicate from a personal address from car to car, since not all loudspeaker announcements arrived anywhere. The problem was a defective security pen on the Bugvisier, which despite all efforts could not be remedied at first.

reactions and supply of passengers

The security of the passengers was never endangered, scandlines spokeswoman Anette Ustrup Svendsen emphasized. During the waiting time, the passengers were provided with food and drinks. Such incidents are not common on the Baltic Sea, especially for a ship like the "Berlin" that works on this route, since Rostock and Gedser are the only suitable investors.

Usually the discharge of a ferry only takes six minutes. Due to the incident, however, trucks and cars had to turn back on board or on the deck, which took additional time. After this incident, there was no longer any space on the fully occupied "Copenhagen" ferry, which was used as a replacement vehicle. Nevertheless, the crew managed to quickly control the situation by ordering a special company for Rostock that was ultimately not needed. The problem could finally be fixed around 9 p.m.

safety exercises and ferry operation

The ferry "Berlin" was not only involved in this incident, but also in a previous exercise by the police on February 19, 2025. This exercise, which took place between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., included the use of two inflatable boats that circled the ferry, while a loudspeaker announcement informed the passengers about the situation. There was a listening on board and onlookers watched the events stretched out of the reeling. According to a spokesman for the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Criminal Police Office, the exercise was part of the maritime training of a special task force, where Scandlines was involved as a partner.

The Baltic Sea is used by over 100 ferry and RO-RO lines, with passenger traffic due to the competition due to low-cost airlines and the loss of Duty-Free sales in recent years. Nevertheless, ferry trip is still a popular means of transport and promotes over 100 million international ferry travelers every year. The range of offers ranges from simple crossings to mini cruises, which underlines the attractiveness of the ferry lines. A fixed cycle schedule is primarily aimed for on strongly frequented routes in order to do justice to passenger needs.

Today's experience with “Berlin” shows once again how essential such ferry connections are for mobility in the Baltic Sea area. Despite the difficulties and delays, the passengers ultimately came to their destination and can look back on an exciting story.

For more details and information about the incident and ferry operation, we recommend that we have a look at the reporting of moin.de , ndr and Research Information System.de to throw.