German shipping companies are reporting a significant increase in suspected deliberate disruptions to the navigation systems of their vessels in the Baltic Sea.
Martin Kröger, CEO of the German Shipowners’ Association (VDS), told “Der Spiegel” that the number of hybrid attacks on merchant shipping is noticeably rising and represents a major security challenge for shipping companies. Member companies are now reporting incidents “almost daily.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there has been a “clear increase” even in German waters. Identifying the origin of these attacks is proving difficult. They involve the use of jammers, but also cyberattacks targeting GPS navigation systems and the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which transmits position, course and speed data to other ships.
These manipulations and system failures risk rendering navigation data unusable or making ships invisible to others.
Kröger warns of the danger of grounding or collisions, stating that even if a vessel’s own navigation system is functioning correctly, manipulations affecting the systems of other ships can lead to dangerous misjudgments.
Technically, these attacks cannot be completely prevented. According to Kröger, shipping companies must now increasingly rely on alternative navigation methods such as radar, compass, or visual bearings to prevent accidents. He fears the situation could further escalate.
